Rangers 4, White Sox 0
Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz both came off the disabled list and homered, Alexi Ogando threw his first career shutout and the host Texas Rangers posted a 4-0 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Monday.
It didn’t take long for Hamilton (broken bone in upper right arm) and Cruz (strained right quadriceps muscle) to bolster a staggering offense once they were activated.
Hamilton belted a solo shot to right off Chicago starter John Danks in his first at-bat, giving Texas an early 1-0 lead in the first. In the sixth, Cruz came through with a two-run blast off Danks to put the Rangers up 3-0. The Rangers scored another run in the eighth when Adrian Beltre’s sacrifice fly brought in Hamilton.
But the star of the game was Ogando (5-0), who turned in his best career game. He went the distance, scattering five hits with three walks and six strikeouts.
Danks (0-7) pitched well but remained winless. He took the loss despite going all eight innings, allowing four runs on nine hits with two walks and three strikeouts.