Bullpen Blows It - 6-4

Texas squandered a 4-0 lead (along with six strong innings from starter Tommy Hunter, pictured above) as they lost to the worst team in the Majors. (AP Photo/Cody Duty)

For the last couple of months of the season, the bullpen for the Texas Rangers (50-35) seemed to have shrugged off it's rocky start to the season. Old habits die hard, however, as the bullpen reverted to early-season form in blowing a 4-3 lead in the eighth inning against the worst team in baseball - the Baltimore Orioles (26-59).

Frank Francisco (L, 6-4) didn't record an out to start the eighth as he loaded the bases before getting the quick-hook. It didn't help that All-Star shortstop Elvis Andrus lost a ball in his shirt, allowing the first batter of the inning to get on base.

Darren Oliver followed Francisco and immediately hit Orioles outfielder Felix Pie with the bases loaded and walked the next batter in too as Baltimore took a 5-4 lead. A Julio Lugo blooper a to center a batter later gave the Orioles it's final run of the game and sealed the 6-4 win.

"...nobody's perfect," Micheal Young said. "They're going to have games where things don't bounce their way. That happened tonight."

The bullpen's poor performance ruined another quality start at the Ballpark in Arlington from Tommy Hunter (ND). Hunter allowed three runs and struck out seven batters in six innings and he still hasn't received a loss this season.

Another bright spot in the contest was the sustained sizzle from Josh Hamilton at the plate. Hamilton went 3 for 4 on the night with a solo-homer in the third inning - his 22nd of the season. The Rangers' slugger has three home runs and five RBI in his last five games and now has a 27-game hitting streak at the Ballpark in Arlington.

Texas looks to shrug off an ugly loss Friday night, with a scheduled 7:05 p.m. start time at the Ballpark. Scott Feldman (5-8, 5.51 ERA) takes the mound for Texas with Brian Matusz (3-9, 4.56) getting the nod for Baltimore.

News and Notes:

• Texas tied a franchise-record with five All-Star selections for the 2010 All Star Game. Micheal Young, who was on the ballet for the final spot for the American League, finished fourth the voting. Vladimir Guerrero and Josh Hamilton will start for the A.L. team with Elvis Andrus, Neftali Feliz and Ian Kinsler coming off the bench.

(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)