Beltre, Holland have big nights as Rangers cruise

On a night when their starting rotation continued its fine work to open the season with its finest outing, the Texas Rangers’ star of the game was the player who could walk after this season.

General manager Jon Daniels might want to place a call to Scott Boras at his earliest convenience. The price on a contract extension for Adrian Beltre, Boras’ client, might be starting to soar.

Beltre drove in five runs Tuesday night in the Rangers’ 8-0 victory over the Seattle Mariners on a three-run homer in the third inning and a two-run double in the seventh. He also made another terrific play at third base, extending his defensively wizardry to start the season.

“I’m going to love free agency,” Beltre said, jokingly. “I feel OK. I think I can do better. I think the whole key is to keep my swing where it is and improve it. I think one thing I’ll strive to do the whole season is be consistent.”

His work came in support of Derek Holland, who tossed 6  2/3 scoreless innings and allowed only four soft singles in the rotation’s major league-leading eighth quality start of the season in nine games. No other team in Rangers history has seen a rotation do that.

Elvis Andrus had three hits and an RBI, and Nomar Mazara showed that he can play quality defense in right field.

But not even a week removed from his 37th birthday, Beltre is off to a hot start in what for the past three seasons has been a slow month for him. The big night gave him eight RBIs to go with a .314 average.

“He feels good, looks good and is playing with a lot of energy right now,” manager Jeff Banister said. “He came out of spring training in good shape. Let’s try to keep him that way.”

The game was scoreless after two innings thanks to stellar defensive work by Mazara, who made a diving catch near the right-field line to rob Chris Iannetta of a double and keep a runner at first, and by Beltre, who made a sliding stop to his left and got a force out to end the inning.

The Rangers broke the game open with five runs in the third. They opened with four straight singles, the first from Andrus, who would score on a Bryan Holaday single. Prince Fielder followed three batters later with a sacrifice fly for a 2-0 lead.

Beltre was next, and he yanked a Wade Miley slider into the left-field corner at the shortest part of the Safeco Field outfield for his second homer of the season.

“It was a good spot to put it,” Beltre said. “If I had hit it to straight center field, I would have been out.”

Holland got another big defensive play in the third from Mazara, a running catch at the right-field wall to rob Leonys Martin, and then got Robinson Cano to line softly to first base with the bases loaded and two outs.

Holland didn’t have much trouble after that, and put together his best inning in the sixth. He was finally pulled with two outs in the seventh after his pitch count climbed to 110.

“This lineup is tough,” said Holland, who walked two and struck out four. “I made my pitches when I need to most, and that’s what really mattered.”

The Rangers were up 8-0 by then. Andrus singled home a run in the sixth, and Beltre ripped a liner to center field that soared over Martin’s head for a two-run double.

The price on a contract extension for Beltre might be starting to soar, too.

This story was originally published April 13, 2016 at 2:02 AM with the headline "Beltre, Holland have big nights as Rangers cruise."