Rangers win again as Beltre takes positive step

Good things continued to happen for the home team Tuesday at Globe Life Park, though the official placement of Carlos Gomez on the 10-day disabled list for up to six weeks ranked as a bummer.

But Yu Darvish didn’t have much trouble with the Philadelphia Phillies in the opener of a three-game interleague series. Shin-Soo Choo’s lower back stiffness was dissipating. Mike Napoli has started hitting again.

The best news, even better than the Texas Rangers’ seventh consecutive victory, is that Adrian Beltre took a significant step in his recovery from a strained right calf by jogging on the field.

He ran at only 50 percent effort, but it was the first time he had run on solid ground since he injured his calf April 8. He also threw, took ground balls at third base and took multiple rounds of batting practice before the 3-1 victory over the Phillies.

If all goes well, Beltre could be back by the end of the month or in early June.

“It’s on the right track,” Beltre said. “I just have to make sure my legs are in shape and not to have any setbacks. So far, the plan the trainers have for me has been working, and I’m trying to follow that plan.”

Beltre watched from the dugout as Darvish (4-2) allowed one run on four hits in seven innings, walking two and striking out nine. He lowered his ERA in 14 career interleague starts to 2.19, the lowest in the majors among pitchers with 12 or more starts.

Nomar Mazara homered off Jerad Eickhoff, who to date has clearly been the best of the six players the Rangers traded to the Phillies in 2015 for Cole Hamels and Jake Diekman, with two outs in the first.

The Rangers scored two more against Eickhoff, as Robinson Chirinos brought in a run with a ground out in the fourth and Jonathan Lucroy drove in another in the fifth with a two-out double that scored Delino DeShields, saved by replay from a pickoff earlier in the inning, from first.

Napoli put the game out of reach with a two-run homer in eighth to cap a 3-for-3 game that also included a walk. He is batting .300 on the homestand with three homers and seven RBIs.

“The execution in those run-scoring opportunities has to show up until this offense really gets going,” manager Jeff Banister said. “Nomar showed up. Delino at the top of the lineup got the one walk, Lucroy with the two-out hit Delino running, and then Napoli in showing up in the middle of the lineup driving in some runs for us ... were crucial for us.”

Darvish was at 51 pitches entering the sixth even with six strikeouts, with only 10 pitches wide of the strike zone. He used his slider and changeup effectively throughout, but ran into trouble in his final two innings.

Shortstop Elvis Andrus dropped a one-out pop up by No. 9 hitter Brock Stassi in the sixth after a communication issue with DeShields in shallow left field, and Darvish issued his first walk to Cesar Hernandez. Darvish, though, struck out former Rangers minor-leaguer Odubel Herrera and got Aaron Altherr to fly to right field.

The Phillies finally scored in the seventh, turning a leadoff single, a one-out walk and a two-out single by Freddy Galvis on an 0-2 pitch into a run. Darvish ended the inning with his final strikeout, but was done for the game after throwing 44 pitches in his final two innings.

Alex Claudio and Matt Bush finished off the win with scoreless innings in the eighth and ninth.

“I think I had really good stuff today,” Darvish said. “My slider was really good. It was breaking well. The changeup, I threw five total, but they were swinging and I got the reaction I wanted.”

After the sixth inning, Beltre was captured by TV cameras coaching up DeShields and Andrus. Beltre is hoping to make on-field contributions sooner than later after going through an extended stretch where he was frustrated and left the team for a weekend trip to California to clear his head while he rested the calf.

The Rangers came home last week to find Beltre in a far better mood than the last time they had seen him. He admitted that the improved health of his calf has lifted his spirits.

“I’m improving,” Beltre said. “Obviously, the team is playing better. It’s nice to see them back here and playing the way they have. I’ve seen some improvement, and I’m excited to see what’s to come in the next two or three weeks.

“I was in a different mindset back then. I was unhappy. I was not satisfied with the situation. I came to terms that it’s out of my hands and I had to try to find the best way back.”

Once he is back, the Rangers will have to decide what to do with Joey Gallo, who has impressed Beltre as his fill-in at third. Beltre knew about the power, but has been especially pleased with Gallo’s defense.

Gallo could become the left fielder, moving DeShields to center field, until Gomez returns. By that point, right-hander Tyson Ross could be in the rotation and Hamels could be close to returning from his strained right oblique.

Having pulled their record to .500 for the first time this season with the win streak against three second-division teams, the Rangers are on the verge of staying afloat and potentially getting better for the last half of the season as players come off the DL.

“We’re playing better,” Banister said. “Until we get those guys back, this is how we have to play. It gives us some confidence in that we can play this type of baseball.”

This story was originally published May 16, 2017 at 10:51 PM with the headline "Rangers win again as Beltre takes positive step."