Detroit Vs. Texas
The Texas Rangers are off to an impressive start to the season thanks to Josh Hamilton's bat and some solid starting pitching.
In Wednesday's series finale against the Detroit Tigers, the Rangers will begin another extended stretch without Hamilton, and they're not sure what to expect from their starter.
Hamilton left Tuesday's 5-4 loss to the Tigers (4-7) after fracturing his upper right arm while trying to score from third on a popup that didn't leave the infield. The reigning AL MVP is expected to miss six to eight weeks and won't swing a bat for a month.
"Obviously, he's a big part of our club," general manager Jon Daniels said. "We built the club to deal with something like this."
Hamilton missed most of the final month of the regular season last year with two broken ribs after he made a catch, then rolled his ankle and stumbled hard into the outfield wall at Minnesota. He was back in time for the postseason and helped Texas (9-2) reach the World Series.
Hamilton hit .359 with 32 home runs and 100 RBIs in 2010. He is batting .333 with seven RBIs this season.
In 2009, Hamilton was limited to 89 games when he had two stints on the disabled list after separate wall-crashing catches.
Losing Hamilton is a big blow for Texas, which is off to its best start since opening 10-1 in 1989.
Pitching has also been a big part of the Rangers' success, as their starters have compiled a 2.56 ERA.
Because of Saturday's doubleheader, however, manager Ron Washington didn't want to bring Colby Lewis back on short rest so he is going with Dave Bush (8-13, 4.54 ERA in 2010).
The right-hander, who spent the last five seasons with Milwaukee, made the Rangers' opening day roster as a long reliever after posting a 5.14 ERA in five spring training games but has yet to appear in a game.
Making his season debut against Detroit is probably not Bush's first choice, as he's 0-2 with an 11.37 ERA in four games - three starts - lifetime against the Tigers, his highest ERA against any opponent.
Bush has also had trouble against Miguel Cabrera, whom is 3 for 8 with two homers and a double lifetime against him.
Cabrera ended Tuesday's game with a bases-loaded single with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to snap Detroit's three-game losing streak.
The five-time All-Star is off to a fast start, batting .385 with team highs of four homers and 10 RBIs.
"He comes to play," Tuesday's starter Brad Penny said of Cabrera. "He's a professional. When he comes in this clubhouse, he's a baseball player, and he handles himself how he should."
Max Scherzer (2-0, 5.73) will take the ball in the series finale looking to build on a solid outing.
After yielding six runs and nine hits - including a career-high four homers - in five innings of a 10-7 win at Yankee Stadium on April 3, Scherzer gave up a run and seven hits in six innings in Friday's 5-2 home win over Kansas City.
The right-hander improved to 9-4 with a 2.90 ERA at spacious Comerica Park.
In his only career start against the Rangers in Detroit on July 21, Scherzer allowed four hits in seven shutout innings in a 4-1 win. He is 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA in three career starts versus Texas.
Despite Scherzer's success against the Rangers, he'll have to be careful pitching to Michael Young, whom is 3 for 8 with a pair of triples lifetime against him.
Young is 5 for 7 in this series, and batting .456 with 16 RBIs during a 14-game hitting streak against the Tigers.
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