Rangers at Tigers
THE STORY: The Texas Rangers will start life without Josh Hamilton on Wednesday when they play the rubber game of a three-game series against the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday afternoon. The 2010 MVP is out for 6-8 weeks after breaking his upper right arm Tuesday when he slid head first into home trying to score on a foul out in the first inning. The Tigers earned the type of win that could get them back on the right track Tuesday, when Miguel Cabrera singled home Brandon Inge in the bottom of the ninth for a 5-4 victory. The Tigers hope to build on that, sending two-game winner Max Scherzer to the mound against Dave Bush. The Tigers have yet to win two consecutive games.
TV: 1:05 p.m., FS-SW, FS-DET.
PITCHING MATCHUP: Tigers RH Max Scherzer (2-0, 5.73) vs. RH Dave Bush (0-0, 0.00).
Scherzer allowed seven hits and one run in six innings to beat Kansas City in his last outing. The 26-year old has struck out nine in 11 innings. Scherzer is 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 20 innings against Texas. Rangers batters are 9-for-31 against him, led by Michael Young (3-for-8) and Ian Kinsler (2-for-6). Bush, 31, makes his first appearance for Texas after going 56-68 with a 4.66 ERA in seven years with Toronto and Milwaukee. Bush, the sixth starter, gets the nod because the Rangers don’t want to use Colby Lewis or Matt Harrison on three days rest. Bush is 0-2 with an 11.37 ERA in 12 2-3 innings against Detroit. Cabrera is 3-for-8 with two homers against Bush.
ABOUT TIGERS (4-7): Cabrera was intentionally walked the day before in the bottom of the ninth, but Texas couldn’t do it with the bases loaded Tuesday. Cabrera singled to win it and completed his third straight game with two hits to raise his batting average to .385 with four homers, 10 RBIs and 30 total bases. Now the Tigers have to get their other big middle-of-the lineup threat going. Victor Martinez does have eight RBIs, but is just 1-for-12 the last four games and is batting .220 overall. Ryan Raburn is 3-for-5 the last two games and had a great catch in left field Tuesday.
ABOUT RANGERS (9-2): With Hamilton out, the Rangers are going to need a little more from everyone. Young continued his hot streak Tuesday with three hits that raised his average to .341. He is 8-for-15, with four runs scored and two RBIs the last four games. Nelson Cruz leads the team with five home runs and 11 RBIs and Mitch Moreland improved his average to .333 with two hits Tuesday. Kinsler, who replaced Hamilton after his injury as the designated hitter, went 0-for-3 to drop his average to .231. Elvis Andrus has slowed down after a hot start. He is 2-for-22 his last six games.
FINAL PITCH: Chris Davis, who has played first and third base, was recalled from Triple-A Round Rock of the Pacific Coast League to replace Hamilton on the roster. Davis had four homers, 11 RBIs and 23 total bases for Round Rock. Davis has 39 home runs and 118 RBIs in 238 games for Texas, batting .248.