Young points the way
Sends M’s to defeat despite fractured finger
ARLINGTON, Texas – A fractured finger kept Michael Young out of the Texas Rangers’ starting lineup. By the eighth inning, however, the All-Star shortstop felt well enough to deliver the go-ahead run with a pinch-hit sacrifice fly.
Josh Hamilton hit his team-leading 25th homer and collected his major league-best 104th run batted in to help the Rangers outlast the Seattle Mariners 4-3 on Wednesday night.
With the game tied at 3, Seattle reliever Arthur Rhodes (2-1) loaded the bases in the eighth with one-out walks to David Murphy, Hamilton and Marlon Byrd, all on full counts.
Young, limited by his broken right ring finger, lifted a fly ball to center, and Murphy gave the Rangers the lead ahead of Jeremy Reed’s throw.
Neither Young nor Milton Bradley, two of the Rangers’ four All-Stars, was able to start because of injuries.
Young’s finger was stiff when he came to the ballpark, but he told manager Ron Washington he would be available to pinch hit late in the game. Bradley is slowed by a strained left quad.
Brandon Boggs homered for the Rangers, who have won seven of their last nine against the Mariners.
After the go-ahead run scored, Rhodes was being removed from the game by manager Jim Riggleman. As he walked toward the dugout, Rhodes yelled at home-plate umpire Paul Nauert because Rhodes didn’t get two close pitches on 3-2 counts, and Nauert ejected Rhodes.
“You’ve got to make your calls out there,” said Rhodes, who’s been the subject of trade rumors. “I’m out there making good pitches, the ball’s going over the plate, you should call it. But I have no comment over that.”
Former Mariner Eddie Guardado (2-2) pitched a perfect eighth for the win, and C.J. Wilson got three outs for his 24th save.
Texas starter Vicente Padilla gave up three runs and 10 hits in seven innings.
Mariners starter Miguel Batista allowed three runs – two earned – and seven hits in six innings.
Seattle took a 2-0 lead in the second on RBI singles by Willie Bloomquist and Reed.
Solo homers in the second by Hamilton and Boggs pulled Texas even at 2.
Jose Lopez’s RBI single in the fifth stretched his hitting streak to 17 games and gave Seattle a 3-2 lead.
Texas drew even in the sixth with help from a throwing error by Seattle catcher Kenji Johjima.
Little has gone right for the Mariners this season. Seattle fell to 40-67, the worst record in the American League.
Riggleman refused to pin the loss on a few pitches that weren’t called his team’s way.
“I never like to use (close calls) as a motivational thing,” Riggleman said. “I have too much respect for those umpires to use them as a tool for me to get the team motivated.”