Baseball notebook: Washington earns boost

The Texas Rangers are sticking with manager Ron Washington, at least through 2010.

“This was an easy decision,” Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said in a statement Monday announcing the team exercised its contract option to keep him for next season. “We’re excited about the direction the club is going under Ron’s leadership and we look forward to a long, productive relationship with him as our manager.”

The Rangers have led the A.L. West for 33 days, their longest stretch since 1999.

Gallo pleads not guilty

The man charged with killing Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart and two others in a drunken-driving crash pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder as relatives of the victims looked on.

Andrew Thomas Gallo also pleaded not guilty through his attorney to three other felony charges and one misdemeanor in connection with the April 9 collision that occurred just hours after Adenhart pitched six scoreless innings in his season debut.

Gallo, 22, watched from inside a security enclosure as defense attorney Randall Longwith entered the pleas before an Orange County Superior Court judge in Santa Ana, Calif.

Upper-deck shot

Part of Tiger Stadium’s upper deck came crashing down, nearly a decade after the final major league game there and hours after a judge refused to stop the historic ballpark’s demolition.

Crews used a backhoe to tear away chunks of the upper deck along the former third-base line, causing debris to rain down as dozens of people gathered nearby to witness the destruction of a stadium that opened in 1912 and hosted professional baseball for 87 years.

Clearing the bases

Suspended Los Angeles slugger Manny Ramirez remained fifth among N.L. outfielders in the latest fan voting for starting spots in the All-Star game. Philadelphia’s Raul Ibanez leads N.L. outfielders with 1,415,493 votes, followed by Milwaukee’s Ryan Braun (1,269,033), the New York Mets’ Carlos Beltran (1,092,516) and the Chicago Cubs’ Alfonso Soriano (1,078,904). … It looks like David Ortiz’s eyesight isn’t the cause of his season-long slump. His vision checked out “very well” during an examination, and the Boston designated hitter was given drops for dry eyes. … Texas center fielder Josh Hamilton will undergo surgery today to repair a partial tear in an abdominal muscle and is expected to miss the next 4-6 weeks.