ARLINGTON, Texas – Mark DeRosa figures he’s just got the good fortune of batting behind so many quality hitters in the Texas Rangers lineup. Except they wouldn’t be scoring as much without the utility player turned everyday right fielder.
DeRosa went 3-for-4 with his second six-RBI game this week, helping the Rangers take full advantage of Seattle’s early erratic pitching and fielding in a 14-7 victory over the Mariners on Friday night.
“The credit has to go to the guys coming up ahead of me,” DeRosa said. “It seems like I’m coming up every time with the bases loaded or two guys in scoring position. I’m trying not to really think about it. I just want to bear down and have good at-bats.”
DeRosa had two-RBI hits in each of the first two innings, when the Rangers batted through their order both times and led 10-0. The No. 6 hitter in the order – behind five current or former All-Stars – DeRosa added a solo home run in the third to make it 12-1 and later had a sacrifice fly.
The six RBIs matched DeRosa’s career high, set only two days earlier when he had a pair of three-run homers in a 14-0 victory at Oakland that started the Rangers three-game winning streak – after they had lost four in a row. He also had a five-RBI game last week against the Los Angeles Angels.
“I harken back to watching him last year, in the middle of the summer just working his butt off at four or five different positions, being ready for when we need him, and preparing for the opportunity that he’s gotten,” manager Buck Showalter said. “You love to see that rewarded with the type of year he’s having.”
DeRosa has started at six different defensive positions, but Friday was his 45th start in right field. Third in the AL batting race going into the game, he raised his average to .333. His 12 homers and 60 RBIs are already career highs.
Carlos Lee and Gary Matthews Jr. also homered for the Rangers. Matthews was 3-for-3, including a two-run single, with two walks.
The Rangers sent 11 batters up in the first inning and scored seven times with only two hits – helped by four walks and two errors. Gil Meche (9-7) then walked the first two batters in the second and was done for the night before DeRosa’s two-run double.
“We’ll take them any way we can get them,” Showalter said. “We have that potential to put a lot of numbers on the boards. … I’m as proud of the walks as anything, setting up some big innings.”
Kip Wells, making only his second start for Texas since being traded from Pittsburgh, didn’t even factor into the decision. The right-hander twisted his left foot on an awkward follow-through, and left with no outs in the fourth inning.
Wells, who skipped his scheduled start Monday because of shoulder stiffness, allowed five runs and eight hits. Showalter said Wells appeared OK but that the foot would be re-evaluated Saturday.
Wes Littleton (2-0), the third reliever for Texas, pitched two scoreless innings for the win.
Meche allowed nine runs – only four of them earned – and walked six in his shortest outing of the season. Only 24 of his 54 pitches were strikes. The right-hander is winless his last five starts, 0-3 with an 8.45 ERA in that span.
“It was a matter of not being able to find anything,” Meche said. “I couldn’t find my release point. I was thinking where’s my hand, where’s my arm. … The focus should be to get the ball and throw it. you shouldn’t have to be thinking about mechanics.”
The Rangers had the bases loaded in the first after Meche walked three of the first four batters. Hank Blalock then reached on an RBI fielder’s choice, and all runners were safe because of first baseman Ben Broussard’s throwing error.
Shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt’s throwing error on Rod Barajas’ grounder, which would have ended the first, allowed two runs before Matthews’ infield single off Broussard’s glove drove in two more.
Lee led off the third with his second homer for Texas, the first at home. The two-time All-Star outfielder hit 28 homers in 102 games for Milwaukee before being traded two weeks ago.
Wells allowed hits to each of the bottom three hitters in the Seattle’s lineup in the fourth before getting hurt on a pitch to Ichiro Suzuki, who reached on an error by second baseman Ian Kinsler.
Josh Rupe replaced Wells and allowed a three-run homer to Raul Ibanez, the third batter he faced, that got the Mariners within 12-7. That came an inning after Ibanez had an RBI single.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
