Rangers, Giants close out set by the bay

Since winning four straight and five of six back in late May to move to 31-18,
the Rangers have hit more than a few bumps in the road and have won just three
times in the last 11 outings which means their advantage over the Los Angeles
Angels is now just three games.

Yesterday Texas was held scoreless for the first seven innings by San
Francisco and then only managed to push across one run in each of the final
two frames in a 5-2 road loss. Mike Napoli and Mitch Moreland both delivered
solo home runs as the visitors registered just five total hits.

“Throughout the whole lineup everyone is struggling right now,” said Texas
manager Ron Washington. “All we can do is keep working and keep doing what we
know we have to do and it will come back around. Right now I really don’t have
an answer.”

Texas starter Scott Feldman fell to 0-5 on the season as he permitted three
runs — two earned — on four hits while striking out seven over 5 1/3
innings.

Over on the other side the Giants, now four games off the pace and in second
place in the National League West behind the Dodgers, were led by Ryan
Vogelsong who allowed just a single run on three hits and three walks, fanning
three, in 7 2/3 innings. Santiago Casilla registered just a single strikeout
to end the contest, but that was enough to earn him his 16th save of 2012.

Ryan Theriot knocked in a pair and Nate Schierholtz added a double and a
triple for the hosts as they won for the seventh time in the last nine
outings. Also getting in on the action was Pablo Sandoval who drove in a run
in his first game since May 2 due to surgery to repair a broken hamate bone in
his right hand.

Desperate to get his season on track, San Francisco hurler Tim Lincecum
searches for just his third win of 2012 and the first since April 28 versus
San Diego.

Lincecum, one of the most dominating pitchers in the NL in recent years, was
just 13-14 in 2011 even though he carried a 2.74 ERA. Unfortunately, he’s been
hurting himself for the last five weeks, unable to break what has become a
four-game slide.

The right-hander is currently staring at a lofty 5.83 ERA over 12 games after
being tagged for four runs on just five hits, while striking out eight, in six
innings versus San Diego on Tuesday in a 6-5 setback.

Lincecum has won just once in four decisions at home this year, partly due to
the fact that he has walked 20 batters in just 37.0 innings.

As for the Rangers, they have Alexi Ogando preparing to take the ball today as
he seeks his second win in as many decisions. The right-hander has spent much
of this season coming out of the bullpen and is being pressed into service
after last pitching on June 5 against the Oakland A’s when he permitted just a
single hit in 1 2/3 innings as he struck out four in a 6-3 win on the road.

At the plate the Giants have gone a franchise record-tying 15 straight home
games without a homer, a dubious feat they last recorded from Sept. 4 to Oct.
3, 1980. It should come as little surprise that San Francisco is second-to-
last in the majors in home run with just 35 through 60 games, the team’s
slugging percentage of .382 coming in 25th.

At the other end of the spectrum are the Rangers who have the third-most home
runs (82) over the same number of games and rank first across the board in
runs scored (317), batting average (.282), on-base percentage (.343) and
slugging (.462).