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ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -- Frank Catalanotto turned out to be a more than capable replacement for David Segui.
|  | | Frank Catalanotto has eight consecutive hits for the Rangers. |
Catalanotto had a career-high five hits, giving him eight
straight overall, and the Texas Rangers beat Tampa Bay 11-6 on
Wednesday to complete a three-game sweep.
"Today I just felt I wasn't going to get beat," said
Catalanotto. "Even when I had two strikes, I knew I could get the
bat on the ball and put it in play."
The Devil Rays lost their fifth in a row.
Activated from the disabled list Monday after recovering from a
groin injury, Catalanotto was starting at first base for Segui,
scratched from the lineup because of the flu.
In day games this season, Segui was batting a league-high .483
(28-for-58) with two homers and 14 RBI.
Catalanotto, who made his first start since April 21, is the
third player in Rangers history with eight straight hits.
"Five hits aren't easy to come by in a week especially coming
right off the DL," said Rangers manager Johnny Oates.
Ivan Rodriguez, the defending American League MVP, added three
hits. He was 10-for-13 in the three-game series with nine RBI. He
is 17-for-27 (.630) with three homers and 11 RBI in six games
against Tampa Bay this season.
The Rangers reached .500 (20-20) for the first time since they
were 6-6 on April 16.
"It's a first step," Oates said. "You break things down into
plateaus. We were seven games under (.500) early with a long way to
go, but we gradually climbed out of it."
Rookie Mike Lamb had a two-run triple in a four-run first for
the Rangers, who have won six of their last eight.
Tampa Bay's Fred McGriff had his 34th two-homer game, including
his seventh career grand slam in the fifth to narrow Texas' lead to
8-5.
With 398 career homers, McGriff is tied with Dale Murphy for
32nd on the career list and is one behind No. 31 Al Kaline.
Tim Crabtree (1-1) pitched a career-long 4 2/3 relief innings
for the victory, allowing one run and three hits.
Oates at first did not want Crabtree to pitch the ninth, but the
right-hander convinced his manager he could provide an inning's
rest for Texas' overworked bullpen.
"I asked if I could go out and finish up," said Crabtree, who
threw 61 pitches. "I had a lot of life to my fastball and all my
pitches were working."
Chad Curtis got Texas' four-run first underway against Bryan
Rekar (0-2) with his fifth homer, a one-out solo shot into the
upper deck in right field. Curtis became the first right-handed
hitter in the seven-year history of The Ballpark in Arlington to
reach the second tier in right field.
Catalanotto's RBI single in the first made it 2-0, then Lamb
delivered his two-run triple for a 4-0 advantage.
McGriff's homer in the second reduced the deficit to 4-1, but
Rodriguez's RBI double in the second extended Texas' lead to 5-1.
Jason McDonald's two-run single in the third chased Rekar. Luis
Alicea's RBI double off reliever Cory Lidle later in the inning
made it 8-1.
Rekar was battered for eight runs and nine hits over 2 2/3
innings.
"I think he was up in the zone," Devil Rays manager Larry
Rothschild said. "He was behind more hitters and he probably
didn't have as good a velocity as he has had in previous starts.
You've got to be able to get the ball maybe not exactly where you
want it every time, but get it close."
Rangers rookie starter Doug Davis took an 8-1 lead into the
fifth and seemed on pace for his second career victory, but got
only one out before the Devil Rays loaded the bases. Then McGriff
lined his eighth homer and second grand slam of the season, chasing
Davis.
Davis allowed five runs and five hits over 4 1/3 innings.
Vinny Castilla's RBI single in the sixth off Crabtree reduced
Texas' lead to 8-6.
Jeff Sparks, Tampa Bay's fourth pitcher, allowed a bases-loaded
walk to Alicea in the seventh. Later in the inning, Curtis had an
RBI single, and another run scored on a double play to make it
11-6.
Game notes
Rekar and Davis were both making their third starts of the
season. ... There have been 25 five-hit games in Rangers history.
... Thirteen of the first 23 Texas batters reached base. ... Tampa
Bay is 0-9 against left-handed starters. ... Crabtree's outing was
the longest by a Rangers reliever this season. His record with
Texas is 12-3. ... The Rangers are 11-5 in May. ... Texas is 7-0
when scoring at least 10 runs.
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