Lewis Gets 1st Win In 2 Years As Rangers Defeat White Sox
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) - Colby Lewis pitched into the sixth inning for his first win in nearly two years, Prince Fielder homered and the Texas Rangers beat the Chicago White Sox 6-3 on Saturday night.
Lewis (1-1) struck out four while allowing only one run over 5 1-3 innings. The right-hander, the first known major league pitcher to return from a unique hip procedure, won for the first time since June 17, 2012.
Shin-Soo Choo and Alex Rios each had three hits for the Rangers, who won their fifth consecutive game. Kevin Kouzmanoff homered leading off the eighth, giving him a 10-game hitting streak to start his Rangers career.
Texas went ahead to stay on Fielder's high-arching blast to right leading off the fourth for a 2-1 lead. It was only his second homer in his 18 games with Texas.
Jose Quintana (1-1) allowed five runs and nine hits over five innings, and the White Sox lost their fourth straight.
Before his season debut Monday night, a home loss to Seattle, Lewis hadn't made a major league start since July 18, 2012. The 34-year-old right-hander had surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon in his right elbow, and was still rehabbing from that last August when he had right hip resurfacing surgery, a procedure to remove bone spurs without a full hip replacement.
Joakim Soria, the fifth Texas reliever, worked a perfect ninth for his third save in four chances.
Dayan Viciedo's two-run single in the eighth got the White Sox within 5-3 before Alexei Ramirez, who entered the game with a AL-leading .379 batting average, grounded into an inning-ending double play.
Ramirez finished 0 for 4 to snap his 21-game hitting streak, the longest hitting streak by a White Sox player since Carlos Lee's franchise-record 28 in a row 10 years ago, and drop his average to .357.
Josh Wilson had a two-run single in the fourth for Texas before Choo's RBI-double made it 5-1.
Chicago opened the second inning with three consecutive singles -- equaling its season-low hit total from the night before in a span of five pitches. Ramirez then grounded into a double play to send home a run that tied the game at 1.
Texas had three consecutive hits in the first, though No. 2 Elvis Andrus got tagged out in a rundown between first and second base after his single. Rios had an RBI double for a 1-0 lead and to stretch his hitting streak to six games.
After Andrus was tagged out diving back into first, Texas manager Ron Washington took one step out of the dugout like he might challenge the play. He instead returned to his seat, and TV replays showed that Andrus was indeed out.
Notes: Chicago leadoff hitter Adam Eaton left with a mild strain in his left hamstring after batting in the fifth. It wasn't clear if the injury was related to a collision with 1B Fielder on a foul-ball roller up the first-base line the previous pitch. ... Viciedo's hit off Alexi Ogando ended a scoreless streak of 16 2-3 innings by Rangers relievers, who had allowed only one earned run the previous 23 1-2 innings. ... Texas LHP Matt Harrison threw eighth scoreless innings in a rehab start for Double-A Frisco on Saturday night. He could make his Rangers season debut as early as next weekend. ... The Rangers are a majors-best 9-3 at home this season
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