ANAHEIM, Calif. — The two unearned runs the Texas Rangers allowed to Los Angeles Friday night continued a recent trend for the club.
Since May 1, the Rangers have allowed a major-league high 26 unearned runs. No other team has allowed more than 20 in that span.
The number is startling because the Rangers allowed just three unearned runs in April. They now rank second in the majors in unearned runs allowed with 29. San Francisco leads baseball with 30.
Despite the recent defensive struggles, Texas manager Ron Washington isn't too concerned.
"I don't think anybody can look out there at our team and say we don't play defense," Washington said. "It happens. We'll get it back together."
Texas committed just one error Friday but it was Ian Kinsler's seventh inning boot of a Maicer Izturis grounder kept the inning going for Mike Trout, who broke a 2-2 tie with a two-run single.
Harrison ready
Matt Harrison (6-3) is coming off a pair of solid outings and is looking for another one Sunday in the series finale against Los Angeles.
Over his last five starts, Harrison has dropped his ERA from 5.40 to 4.41 and one of the reasons for that has been his ability to dictate the pace.
"The biggest thing is throwing strikes, quick tempo, being aggressive and not giving the hitters a chance to get comfortable," Harrison said. "Right now I've set a pace where I feel comfortable and I'm not way out in front of my arm. It's definitely made me feel more aggressive on the mound."
His recent success will be put to the test today as Harrison is just 2-3 with a 4.62 ERA in his career against Los Angeles.
