 yielded six harmless singles and struck out seven, winning his ninth consecutive decision on the road dating to last August. He is 16-2 since getting traded from Philadelphia to Texas last summer and has already compiled excellent credentials for this year's All-Star Game, to be played two weeks from Tuesday in his San Diego hometown.'' It's always been a goal from the first moment that I heard that San Diego was going to have it,'' he said. Hamels threw only 86 pitches and beat the Yankees for the first time in five career tries - including the 2009 World Series. He has a 0.65 ERA in his last four outings, and his recent dominance has been particularly important for the Rangers with rotation mates Colby Lewis, Derek Holland and Yu Darvish on the disabled list. In a matchup of accomplished left-handers, CC Sabathia (5-5) pitched into the eighth inning for the first time in a year - but that's where it all fell apart for him. Trailing 2-0, he nicked leadoff man Shin-Soo Choo on the hand with a pitch and was unable to corral Ian Desmond's comebacker, which went for an infield single. Beltre's bad-hop RBI single got past third baseman Chase Headley, and Prince Fielder chased Sabathia with a run-scoring double that made it 4-0.'' Just a frustrating night,'' Sabathia said. ''If I can either make the play or get out of the way, I have a double play right there.'' Pinch hitter Nomar Mazara, Rougned Odor and Jurickson Profar each added an RBI single against Anthony Swarzak to cap a five-run outburst that broke the game open. Texas has scored 39 runs in its last five games.'' We should have been out of that inning with no runs,'' Girardi said. Sabathia, who twice rolled his right ankle during his previous start, was charged with six runs and eight hits in seven-plus innings. Beltre, who got the go-ahead hit around 2:30 a.m. in the series opener, lofted a two-run homer in the first to the short porch in right field. Desmond and Beltre both finished with three hits.'' Amazing amount of energy,'' Hamels said. ''He really shows you why he loves this game and why you should love the game of baseball. He's a tremendous talent and one of the best leaders I've ever been around.'' GET BACK THEREOdor got a rare order in the eighth - he twice was told to get back in the on-deck circle by plate umpire Paul Nauert. Odor was near the backstop, drifting far from the dugout, as Mazara batted. Odor had a playful smile as he moved back to his proper place. ROAD WARRIORSHamels is 6-0 with a 1.44 ERA in eight starts away from home this season. ... Texas has won five straight games at Yankee Stadium for the first time. ... The Rangers have won 15 of their last 18 road games. TRAINER'S ROOMRangers: Darvish (shoulder discomfort) is scheduled to throw about 45 pitches in a three-inning simulated game Wednesday afternoon at Yankee Stadium. ... RHP Keone Kela (elbow impingement) is headed to Triple-A Round Rock to throw a simulated inning Thursday. If that goes well, his next step could be a minor league rehab assignment. Yankees: Beltran pulled a line drive into the left-field corner his first time up and broke well out of the batter's box. But he pulled up with a single after rounding first and went back to the bag even when the ball initially eluded left fielder Ryan Rua. Rob Refsnyder ran for Beltran and replaced him in right field as well. UP NEXTRangers RHP Nick Martinez (1-1, 5.54 ERA) faces RHP Masahiro Tanaka (5-2, 3.01) in the third game of the four-game series Wednesday night. The 25-year-old Martinez went to college in the Bronx at nearby Fordham and is 1-0 with a 1.46 ERA in two starts at Yankee Stadium.
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Time: 07:05 P.M. EST Venue: Yankee Stadium
NEW YORK -- Alex Rodriguez's view of the last two games for the New York Yankees has been from the dugout. On Tuesday, he is expected to return from being benched and when he does, he will have to face one of the toughest left-handers in the American League. Cole Hamels will be on the mound when Rodriguez and the Yankees continue their four-game series with the Texas Rangers. Rodriguez is batting .223 (37-for-166) in 44 games this season. He has eight home runs and 26 RBIs, 13 of his hits have gone for extra bases and he has struck out 53 times. Since returning from missing a month with a right hamstring injury, the 40-year-old is batting .282 but only four of his 22 hits have gone for extra bases." It's a hard decision," New York manager Joe Girardi said. "Alex has meant a lot to this club over the years, but now we're going to do something a little bit different and see how it works." Rodriguez also has struggled more against right-handers than left-handers. Against righties, he is a .200 hitter while vs. southpaws, he is batting .275, although Rodriguez is hitless in five career at-bats against Hamels." Physically I feel good," Rodriguez said. "Look I have 165, 170 at-bats, eight home runs, 26 RBIs -- not good, not great. But I certainly have enough in the tank to help this team win." This also is the continuation of a downward trend at the plate for Rodriguez since late July. He turned 40 July 27 and had a .276 average with 24 home runs and 59 RBIs. Since then, he has batted .215 (78-for-363) with 17 home runs, 53 RBIs and 115 strikeouts in his last 104 games, which seems to be enough of a sample size for the Yankees to sit him more often, especially with their constant quest to get over .500 and stay over." We can't stay stagnant," GM Brian Cashman said. "Time is of the essence. We can't keep treading water and I want to be a contender, not a pretender." We've got a short sprint now to the trade deadline. This team needs to declare itself as good enough, contenders or not." With Rodriguez sitting, the Yankees had 16 hits as Mark Teixeira, Carlos Beltran and Didi Gregorius had three hits apiece but it was not enough as Kirby Yates could not protect a one-run lead following a three-hour, 35-minute rain delay and allowed four runs, turning a 6-5 game into a 9-6 loss. Texas won for the 28th time in 36 games by getting two-run singles in the ninth from Adrian Beltre and Elvis Andrus. The Rangers also became the first team in baseball to get 50 wins." It speaks volumes of the type of roll they've been on and how they continue to play," Texas manager Jeff Banister said. "It's obviously a nice number but a lot of baseball to be played." After Chi-Chi Martinez allowed five runs and 10 hits during his five-inning season debut, Hamels will look to continue rolling. Hamels has a 0.87 ERA (two earned runs/20 2/3 innings) and has won his last three starts. He also has won his last eight road decisions and has posted a 2.15 ERA in the streak which began Aug. 23 at Seattle. He is 15-2 with a 3.19 ERA in 27 starts since joining Texas and the last win seemed even more significant. Hamels allowed one and five hits while striking out eight in six innings in last Wednesday's 6-4 win over Cincinnati in a game that was played after Derek Holland and Colby Lewis were placed on the disabled list. Hamels was supposed to face the Yankees April 25 but was scratched because of a groin injury. He is 0-2 with a 4.50 ERA in three regular starts against the Yankees also allowed five runs and five hits in 4 1/3 innings during Game 3 of the 2009 World Series at Philadelphia. Veteran left-handers are the theme of Tuesday's pitching matchup and CC Sabathia will oppose Hamels. Sabathia made his debut in 2001 five years before Hamels made his major league debut. Sabathia is enjoying one of the best stretches he has had in recent seasons. His 2.78 ERA is the lowest it has been at least 12 starts into a season in his career since it was 2.55 24 starts into the 2011 season. He has the ninth-lowest ERA over his last 21 starts going back to Aug. 1 and has allowed two earned runs or fewer in 14 of those outings. Wednesday was not one of those outings as Sabathia allowed six runs (five earned) and seven hits in 4 1/3 innings against Colorado. He also twisted his right ankle backing up home plate but has been able to do his normal work in between starts. Sabathia is 11-5 with a 4.97 ERA in 21 starts against Texas. With the Yankees, he is 4-2 with a 5.79 ERA in eight starts, including April 27 in Texas when he allowed three runs and five hits in six innings.
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