ARLINGTON -- The yo-yoing between the Texas Rangers' rotation and their bullpen in May and June created havoc for Scott Feldman.
The right-hander wasn't suffering as much physically as he was mentally.He dealt with the uncertainty of not knowing where or when he would pitch next, and with hearing grumbles when he took the mound with a hat-sized ERA and without any wins.The solution wasn't sharpening his sinker or adding depth to a curveball that has become a valuable pitch for him. It was brightening his outlook.Pass the suntan lotion, because things couldn't be much sunnier after his start Sunday.Feldman scattered seven hits in eight scoreless innings, and the Rangers' struggling offense did just enough for a 2-0 victory that helped them avoid a second three-game sweep this season to Chicago.Look for Feldman to start again Friday, barring a trade for a starter ahead of Tuesday's trade deadline."That's great. I'll be ready," said Feldman, a 17-game winner in 2009. "I'm just thankful for the opportunity to get out there."The main adjustment I made was just trying to have a better attitude and not get caught up in the rumors and this and that."The victory pushed the Rangers' lead in the American League West to 4 1/2 games over Oakland and five games over Anaheim, which opens a four-game series tonight at Rangers Ballpark.While Feldman won his fifth straight decision and lowered his ERA to 4.76 thanks to a sharp sinker and improved curveball, the offense continues to misfire with runners in scoring position.They went 0 for 10 against Gavin Floyd and two White Sox relievers and finished the series 1 for 31. That includes a stretch of 29 consecutive missed chances, their longest drought since an 0 for 35 skid from April 4-10, 1988.But the hitters' meeting the Rangers held Saturday night produced some results 24 hours later. They had better at-bats and executed at times.Take Josh Hamilton in the fifth inning after Nelson Cruz started the inning with a double. Hamilton, who had scored the game's first run in the third on a two-out error by Alexei Ramirez, hit a grounder to second base to allow Cruz to move to third.Cruz would score a batter later, taking off for home when Floyd threw to first after a squibber by Michael Young. The aggressive play was more like the brand of Rangers baseball urged by the hitters in their meeting."It was definitely a good time for us to go ahead and be aggressive," Young said. "Our approach was better, and that's key. It's not anything that we're stressed about. Things haven't gone our way the last couple of weeks, but we expect things to turn around."The defense paid off, too. Feldman, the Rangers' Opening Day starter in 2010, produced 12 groundball outs to go with his five strikeouts, but the first two outs of the ninth inning were the best two plays.Elvis Andrus stretched out to snag a soft liner by Paul Konerko for the first out, and David Murphy went to the left-field wall and hopped as he grabbed a towering drive by Alex Rios."I've been praising this defense before I got here, and it's nice to see those guys pick us up," said Joe Nathan, who got his 21st save. "It's nice to see Feldy go out and throw the ball again the way he did."Jeff Wilson, 817-390-7760Twitter: @JeffWilson_FWST
Josh Hamilton back in Rangers' lineup, dropped to fifth in order
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