Rangers 2, Rays 0
Josh Hamilton belted a solo home run and Scott Feldman pitched six shutout innings in his first start of the season as the Texas Rangers blanked the visiting Tampa Bay Rays 2-0 on Tuesday.
Hamilton hammered the first pitch to lead off the sixth into the upper deck in right field for his 19th homer. David Murphy made it 2-0 later in the inning with an RBI single. Hamilton and Murphy each had two hits.
The first-place Rangers remained 3 1/2 games ahead of Los Angeles in the American League West; the Rays fell 8 1/2 games behind the Yankees in the AL wild card race.
Feldman (1-0), who had off-season right knee surgery, allowed two hits to win his first game since Sept. 10, 2010. He had made seven appearances out of the bullpen in 2011.
Neftali Feliz allowed the first two batters to reach in the ninth, but earned his 26th save as the Rangers notched their 16th shutout.
Tampa Bay's Jeremy Hellickson (11-10) allowed two runs and six hits in six innings. He escaped further damage in the sixth by getting the final two batters with the bases loaded.
The Rays have been shut out 13 times in 2011.
It was at least 100 degrees for the 14th straight game at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.