Ian Desmond jump-starts Rangers en route to easy victory over Indians

Among the things that have been hammered home in the short time Ian Desmond has been with the Texas Rangers is that he’s all business once he steps into a baseball stadium.

He’s almost always the first player to pull on his uniform. He’s not afraid to let his emotions spill out. He will do whatever it takes to help his team win.

Deep down he’s probably enjoying the ride his bat is taking him and the Rangers on, but first and foremost it’s the job he’s paid to do.

He’s been doing his job as well as anyone in the game of late.

On a night when three players from Ohio got to take a bow at Progressive Field, Desmond lit the fire under the Rangers’ offense with a two-run homer in the first inning en route to a 9-2 victory over the Cleveland Indians.

Nomar Mazara launched a three-run homer in a four-run fourth, and Derek Holland continued to thrive in front of his hometown crowd by allowing one run in six innings.

Desmond, though, got things rolling early on, briefly pushing his average above .300.

“He’s been swinging the bat very well, finding the barrel, staying locked in and engaged at the plate,” manager Jeff Banister said. “Very balanced. Not much chase at all. Looking for a pitch to hit in a zone to hit, and he doesn’t seem to be missing it very much.”

The Rangers won their third straight game, have won five of their past six, and have won three in a row on Memorial Day. The past two have been against the Indians, who never had a chance Monday even though their starting pitcher was 7-0 with a 3.35 ERA.

That changed quickly for Josh Tomlin. Jurickson Profar started with a flare to left field for a single, and Desmond followed with his seventh home run of the season.

Desmond is batting .432 during an eight-game hitting streak and is batting .355 over his past 38 games after a sluggish start to the season that saw him batting .103 after the first 10 games.

It’s just business.

“I don’t consider it really fun,” said Desmond, who went 2 for 5. “I’m just trying to do my job and trying to produce runs. When we score runs, we win. That’s kind of the way baseball goes.”

Bryan Holaday added a sacrifice fly in the second for a 3-0 lead, and the Rangers scored again in the third as Desmond, who opened the inning with a double, came home when Tomlin fielded a Mitch Moreland dribbler down the first-base line and hit him in the back with his throw.

The Indians were miffed that Moreland wasn’t called out for interference. Manager Terry Francona was so hot that he was ejected.

At least he didn’t have to watch the rest of Tomlin’s outing, which ended with four two-out runs in the fourth. Prince Fielder brought in the first with a single that scored Holaday, and after Adrian Beltre reached on an error, Mazara clubbed an Austin Adams offering 448 feet into the trees high above the center-field wall.

“Another grown-up home run,” Banister said.

Holland (4-4) was on cruise control, though he did some good pitching in the fifth with Indians at first and second with one out. He fell behind Jason Kipnis 3-0, but battled back to fill the count before getting the All-Star second baseman to bounce into an inning-ending double play.

Mike Napoli spoiled Holland’s outing with a solo homer in the sixth, but that was all the left-hander from nearby Newark allowed in six innings. Holland improved to 4-1 with a 2.72 ERA at Progressive Field.

“I’m home, man. I’m home,” Holland said.

Cesar Ramos finished up, allowing a home run to Marlon Byrd on his first pitch but getting a double play in each inning to record the first save of at least three innings by a Rangers pitcher since fellow lefty Michael Kirkman did it in 2013.

Desmond started things, though, way back in the first inning.

It’s his job, and he’s been doing it as well as anyone of late.

This story was originally published May 30, 2016 at 9:48 PM with the headline "Ian Desmond jump-starts Rangers en route to easy victory over Indians."