MLB PLAYER NEWS

Rangers’ Ross tops M’s for first win as starter

The Sports Xchange

April 15, 2014 at 8:43 pm.

Robbie Ross picked up his first win as a starter against Seattle. (Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports)

ARLINGTON, Texas — A brief power display by the Texas Rangers was all the support Robbie Ross Jr. needed.

The left-hander earned his first win as a starter, guiding the Rangers to a 5-0 win over the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday.

Ross (1-0) threw 7 2/3 scoreless innings on a rare 60-degree night at Globe Life Park. He allowed five hits and no walks.

Ross, who spent his first two major league seasons in the bullpen, recorded just two strikeouts — the first two batters of the game — but induced 16 ground-ball outs in his 90 pitches (59 for strikes).

“Robbie tonight was able to do what he wanted to do with the baseball,” Rangers manager Ron Washington said. “Cutter was working, nice breaking ball. He was able to spot his fastball around the zone, keep the ball in play and was very aggressive, as he has been the past two outings. That’s what it takes.”

Back-to-back solo home runs by first baseman Prince Fielder and third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff gave Ross a two-run cushion in the second inning. The homers were the first run support Ross received this season. The Rangers never scored during the first 11 1/3 innings Ross spent on the mound in 2014.

Ross, who didn’t get past the sixth inning in his previous two starts, was replaced by right-hander Alexi Ogando in the eighth. Ogando finished the inning, and left-hander Neal Cotts tossed a scoreless ninth.

The Rangers, who scored just one run in three of their four previous games, added three in the bottom of the eighth Tuesday.

Kouzmanoff knocked in two with his second double of the night, and designated hitter Mitch Moreland plated Kouzmanoff with a single.

Kouzmanoff, starting in place of injured third baseman Adrian Beltre, had a Rangers season-high eight total bases. He has hit safely in each of his first six games with the club.

“I’m just trying to get good pitches to hit and hit it hard,” Kouzmanoff said. “Unfortunately Beltre got hurt, and those are big shoes to fill, but I’m just out there trying to do the best I can.”

The Mariners managed seven hits while getting shut out for the third time this season.

“We didn’t do too good,” Seattle manager Lloyd McClendon said. “I mean, (Ross’) cutter was working pretty good, and we probably went outside the zone. It’s probably the first night where I was probably a little disappointed in our approach a little bit. I thought we should have done better.”

Texas jumped on top in the second when Fielder led off with a 416-foot blast to right-center off Mariners right-hander Blake Beavan (0-1). It marked the first home run of the season for the struggling Fielder, who entered the game hitting .176 with three RBIs.

Before the game, Fielder was asked about his home run drought and said it means that one is coming soon. After the game, Fielder said he wasn’t trying to be prophetic.

“No, I was just messing around,” Fielder said, “but I guess it worked.”

Two pitches after Fielder’s homer, Kouzmanoff sent a shot 405 feet over the wall in left. The homer was also his first of the season.

Beavan, a former Rangers draft pick, settled down after the back-to-back homers but was removed after four innings because of shoulder stiffness.

“I just didn’t feel like I could get loose from the get go,” Beavan said. “It just felt like my arm was real tired for some reason. I just tried to work on that between innings, stretching it out and doing some things, and battled to get through four innings, but I just knew something wasn’t right.”

Beavan, who threw 63 pitches (38 for strikes), was making his first start in the majors this season and his first appearance in the big leagues since July 2013. Beavan, who played high school baseball in nearby Irving, Texas, allowed two runs, six hits and no walks while striking out one.

NOTES: The back-to-back homers in the second inning gave the Rangers their first multi-homer game of the season. Texas had just five home runs entering Tuesday and just two home runs in its first seven home games. … The Mariners called up RHP Blake Beavan to make the start, and they optioned LHP Lucas Luetge to Triple-A Tacoma. … Tuesday’s game was the annual tribute to Jackie Robinson, with every player on both teams wearing Robinson’s No. 42. … Wednesday’s game will feature a duel of aces between Mariners RHP Felix Hernandez (3-0, 2.11 ERA) and Rangers RHP Yu Darvish (1-0, 0.00).