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Saturday a.m. Rangers things

By Adam J. Morris
ATLANTA - JUNE 17: Josh Hamilton #32 of the Texas Rangers celebrates after the game against the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field on June 17, 2011 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)
ATLANTA - JUNE 17: Josh Hamilton #32 of the Texas Rangers celebrates after the game against the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field on June 17, 2011 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)
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Hey, a win!  That was refreshing.  9-9 now on this 20 game stretch.

Jeff Wilson's game story says that the Rangers used a tried-and-true method for winning -- good starting pitching, good defense, and Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz hitting.

T.R. Sullivan calls the Ranger defense yesterday "acrobatic," with Ian Kinsler calling the team the Texas Globetrotters.

Here's the Colby Lewis play, after the jump, for those who missed it:

Colbylewisflip

via assets.sbnation.com

Richard Durrett has his recap at ESPN Dallas.

Durrett also has a story, with some quotes from the Rangers, about the great defensive plays from yesterday.

The most encouraging thing for me yesterday, though, was the performance by Neftali Feliz.  That was the best Feliz has looked since Game 6 of the ALCS -- he looked like the guy who was one of the best relievers in baseball in 2010, rather than the guy we've seen most of 2011.  Hopefully, he's turned a corner and is back on track.

The S-T's notes talk about Tanner Scheppers' return to the Frisco active roster, Mike Napoli's progress, and Adrian Beltre moving to the cleanup spot for the Atlanta series.  Here's Ron Washington's explanation about that:

 

Washington likes Beltre's ability to hit the ball in the air, and thinks the Rangers could benefit when they have a runner at third and less than two outs.

"Adrian hits a lot of flyballs," Washington said. "I just wanted to get him in a position where maybe a sacrifice fly can help us."

 

Okay.  It doesn't make sense to me, but...

Sullivan's notes talk about Beltre at cleanup, Darren Oliver's thoughts on the bullpen, and Scott Feldman's progress.  Thad Levine says that Feldman's sinker isn't where it was in 2009, but is much better than in 2010, and he thinks Feldman is one of the team's 12 best pitchers who can help in either the rotation or the bullpen.  Sullivan says that Feldman could be an option to be activated in the next two weeks.

Sullivan also has a story on top draft picks Kevin Matthews and Zach Cone signing with the Rangers, and the press conference scheduled for today at Turner Field to announce the signings.