Rangers' Hamilton out for a while
Hamilton on return: 'All signs point to not soon' Texas Rangers centerfielder Josh Hamilton was leading the majors in batting, then he hit a wall.
Hamilton on return: 'All signs point to not soon'
Texas Rangers centerfielder Josh Hamilton was leading the majors in batting, then he hit a wall.
No, we mean he really hit a wall.
In the third inning of Saturday night's loss at Minnesota, Hamilton hit the center-field wall and bruised his left ribs while fielding a Delmon Young fly ball. He made the catch, so Young was out, but despite continuing to play, so was Hamilton two innings later.
He told MLB.com Sunday that he felt "like I have been in a car wreck." He would know: He was in one in 2001.
Hamilton had been hitting .361 with 31 homers and 97 RBIs.
X-rays were negative, and the Rangers list him as day-to-day. As for the timetable for a possible return, he told MLB.com: "I can't say for sure, but all signs point to not soon. It's not good."
Last season, he went on the DL and missed 13 games - after running into an outfield wall in Toronto.
He and those walls are just going to have to stop meeting this way.
Pterodactyl: Ptero-who? Ptero-Houdini!
Oakland's Trevor Cahill may have the best sinker in the majors.
His long arms earned him the nickname Pterodactyl, but after he pitched out of several jams Saturday against the Angels and came out smelling like six scoreless innings for a win, his friends can call him Houdini.
He escaped a two-on, two-out situation in the first, then retired Hideki Matsui on a fly to center after loading the bases in the third.
The Angels threatened again in the fifth, but rightfielder Rajai Davis threw out Alberto Callaspo trying to go from first to third on Howie Kendrick's one-out single. Bobby Abreu then struck out looking.
The sharp fielders helped Cahill compensate for a career-high six walks. If he's buying the beers for those guys, he'll have to buy himself one. In the third inning, he fielded Peter Bourjos' groundout.
"Last year when I didn't have my best stuff, I was still trying to hit the corners," he said. On Saturday, "I was just trying to throw it down the middle. The goal is not to walk anybody, and I think I set the new standard of walking everybody."
A few strolls never hurt anybody as long as those fugitives don't find their way home.
Lee to miss next start
The Rangers are playing it safe with Cliff Lee and his sore back: They will rest him during his scheduled start Tuesday at Toronto.