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  Saturday, Mar. 18 1:05pm ET
Texas 7, Pittsburgh 5
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. (AP) _ Ruben Mateo homered twice and Rafael Palmeiro once as the Texas Rangers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-5 Saturday in a rain-shortened game.

Rangers starter Kenny Rogers threw 74 pitches in 6 1-3 innings and left with a 7-3 lead. He allowed two earned runs and six hits, struck out three and walked one.

``Today was more of a struggle for me location-wise and stuff-wise than I had the last two times out,'' Rogers said. ``I got some early outs and they were swinging early in the count for me. Today is about average. I felt I was lucky to get that far.''

Pittsburgh starter Jimmy Anderson was tagged for seven runs and seven hits, including three homers, in 2 2-3 innings.

Mateo's two-run, opposite-field homer in the second inning erased a 1-0 Pittsburgh lead. Texas got the rest of its runs in a five-run third, was capped by Mateo's second homer, a solo shot down the left-field line.

Gabe Kapler was 2-for-3 and Ivan Rodriguez had an RBI double for Texas. Rusty Greer, playing for the first time since the seventh game of the spring, drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the third.

Aramis Ramirez went 2-for-4 with a RBI double, and a two-run homer off Jeff Zimmerman. Non-roster infielder Jason Wood drove in two runs with a single that chased Rogers.

Joaquin Benoit earned a save despite walking the last batter he faced. The game was called with one out in the top of the ninth due to rain.

Notes: Greer played three innings in left field to test his sore right ankle. He will play four innings Sunday at Clearwater against Philadelphia. ... Texas reliever John Wetteland is scheduled to begin throwing batting practice Sunday as he recovers from a groin pull. If everything goes well in the next few days, he may get into a game later in the week. ... Former Cuban national team member Jorge Diaz, a second baseman, joined the Rangers Saturday. He will work out with the big league team for the next three days before heading to the team's minor league camp. ... David Segui, acquired from Toronto in Thursday's three-team deal that sent Lee Stevens to Montreal, is expected to join the Rangers on Sunday.

 


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