Beltran feeling better, could start Tuesday in right field

Carlos Beltran said his bruised left quadriceps muscle was feeling better Monday and hopes to play the outfield Tuesday for the Texas Rangers in the series finale against the Colorado Rockies.

Beltran, who was injured Saturday and pinch-hit Sunday, told the training staff he was good to go. Acquired Aug. 1 from the New York Yankees, Beltran is 7 for 21 in his first six games with the Rangers.

“Less sore than yesterday, but I’m good,” he said. “I informed the trainer how I felt. A little sore but playable. I understand. My job is to be ready when they need me. Hopefully, I’m in there tomorrow.”

Manager Jeff Banister said that Beltran will likely play Tuesday, with right fielder Shin-Soo Choo getting his first game off since being activated from the disabled list Thursday. Banister didn’t like the options required to get both players in the lineup: asking Choo to play left field, where he played in 2014, or to ask Beltran to play left, where he hasn’t played since 2000.

“It was my decision on that one,” Banister said. “He probably feels good enough to play. I just wanted the extra 24 hours.”

Going deep

A.J. Griffin wasn’t exactly pleased Thursday when Banister took the ball from him with two outs in the sixth inning, just as he had done during Griffin’s previous start.

The right-hander wants to work deep into games, as every starter does, and to be one out shy of six full innings in consecutive starts was frustrating.

But Griffin isn’t one to rock the boat, and he understands Banister’s reasoning on the decisions. Pitches were becoming elevated, balls were going over the fence, and a fresh arm could help protect a lead.

“You want to go deep in the game’s every time, but when the manager sees an opportunity to firm up a win, he’s going to make those calls,” Griffin said. “You just go out there and pitch as well as you can until they tell you that you’re done.”

Griffin wants to get a chance to finish six or even seven innings Tuesday afternoon, though that could be complicated by playing under National League rules where pitchers are often lifted earlier than normal for a pinch hitter.

Broncos visit

Bench coach Steve Buechele calls NFL Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway one of his close friends from their college days as roommates at Stanford, and the friendship paid off for some other Rangers personnel.

Buechele, Banister and nine others coaches and staff watched the Denver Broncos’ morning workout at training camp just south of Denver. The group had a chance to talk to coach Gary Kubiak and pick Elway’s mind as the general manager of the defending Super Bowl champs.

“I love the energy and how quick they did their drill work,” Banister said. “There was action all the time.”

Banister said that he hopes to incorporate some of what he saw next year at spring training.

“These guys just won the Super Bowl,” he said. “They’re doing something right.”

Now batting eighth ...

Left-hander Cole Hamels became the first pitcher in Rangers history to not bat ninth when he was the Rangers’ eighth-place hitter Monday night.

The theory in having Hamels bat eighth and DeShields ninth was to give the Rangers a better chance at having a runner on base when the lineup flipped back to the top of the order.

The move required a lefty pitching for the Rockies, giving the righty-hitting DeShields a game in place of Nomar Mazara.

This story was originally published August 8, 2016 at 7:15 PM with the headline "Beltran feeling better, could start Tuesday in right field."