Two days after being held scoreless by the Tampa Bay Rays, Ron Washington's Texas Rangers picked up a much-needed victory on Tuesday night over Cleveland, 6-4.
The Rangers added four runs in the second inning alone off Cleveland starter Ubaldo Jimenez after an error-filled frame, which proved to be more than enough run support for right-hander Matt Harrison to work with. Although he tossed just 87 pitches over five and two-thirds innings before exiting, Harrison struck out six and still left the yard with his team-leading 16th victory of the season.
Offensively, Adrian Beltre led the way with a 2-for-5 performance that included his 31st home run of the season off Jimenez in the fifth inning. On-base wizard David Murphy also padded his 0-for-2 night from the plate with a pair of walks and his ninth stolen base of the year.
Set to face Cleveland youngster Jeanmar Gomez, 35-year-old Ryan Dempster will take the mound on Wednesday for Game 2 of the series in search of his sixth victory in a Rangers uniform.
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