Texas Rangers

The Texas Rangers reached a six-year contract agreement with Yu Darvish, a month after winning negotiating rights for the Japanese pitcher with a record $51.7 million bid. Darvish, 25, has gone 93-38 with a 1.99 earned run average in seven seasons with the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters. The Rangers didn't disclose contract terms in a statement on their website. A press conference has been scheduled for 5:15 p.m. local time.

Elvis Andrus lined a two-strike pitch into the left-center field gap for a two-run triple, Josh Hamilton made two tremendous catches in center field and added an RBI double, and the Texas Rangers snapped Seattle's win streak at four with a 3-1 win over the Mariners on Tuesday night. While Hamilton continues to scuffle at the plate, his defense in the outfield remains suburb. His biggest play came in the first inning when he chased down Casper Wells' two-out bases loaded drive to deep left-center and contorted his body to make the catch on the warning track.

Losses like these create reputations. Debacles like this take decades to overcome — if ever. Twice within a strike of winning their first World Series title, the Texas Rangers came up short both times. "You study all year long, get straight A's and then you have to pass the one test to pass the course," Colby Lewis said. "We didn't pass each time. " In a year of unprecedented collapses, the Rangers saved the worst for last. A night after they were a pitch from winning the first title in the 51-year history of the franchise, they wasted a two-run lead Friday and lost Game 7...

Neftali Feliz will be shut down for at least a month because of inflammation in his right elbow, the Texas Rangers said Monday while putting their closer-turned-starter on the 15-day disabled list. The AL West leaders made the move three days after wildness cut short Feliz's latest outing in the fifth inning. Just how long Feliz will be out will be determined when the Rangers see how a ligament in his elbow responds to four weeks without picking up a baseball. He will then be re-examined by Dr. Keith Meister.

After losing a pair of aces in the last two years, the Texas Rangers are going global to land a new one. Winner of consecutive AL pennants, Texas also won the Yu Darvish sweepstakes Monday night with a record bid of $51.7 million. Now, the Rangers get 30 days to negotiate a contract with Darvish that would put Japan's best pitcher at the top of their rotation. "Obviously, it's a very exciting night for our organization, our fans and our community," general manager Jon Daniels said on a conference call.

Veteran righthander Roy Oswalt, a free-agent, threw bullpen sessions for the Philadelphia Phillies last week and the Boston Red Sox this week, major-league sources told Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports and MLB Network. Rosenthal said Oswalt would throw for two more teams in the next few days. Rosenthal's report said that Oswalt rejected offers from the Red Sox and Detroit Tigers last offseason. His preference then was to play for either the Texas Rangers or St. Louis Cardinals, but he has since decided to consider other teams.

Houston starter Jordan Lyles threw four good innings on Sunday against the Texas Rangers. Unfortunately for the Astros they came after a terrible first inning. Colby Lewis allowed four hits in eight-plus innings and drove in two runs, and the Rangers took a five-run lead in the first inning before coasting to a 6-1 win over Houston. Lyles (0-1) yielded nine hits and six runs — both season highs — in five innings in his third start. The 21-year-old, who has spent most of the season in Triple-A, walked three and struck out six. "First inning, I didn't...

Chris Martin's path to professional baseball wasn't so smoothly paved. It was pockmarked by several obstacles - huge potholes, actually. "It's been a long journey," Martin said of the unconventional route the 6-foot-7-inch reliever with 95-mile-per-hour velocity took the last three years to earn a tryout and sign a minor league contract with the Red Sox. "It's been a humbling one. " When he partially tore the labrum in his right (throwing)...

Tom Hicks is being sued by a group of former investors in the Texas Rangers, saying he used the major league baseball club to enrich himself at the team's expense while he was the owner. In the suit filed Monday in state court in Dallas, attorneys for the Rangers partnership under bankruptcy administrator Alan Jacobs say Hicks ignored team obligations and bought land for parking lots and roads to build "a real estate empire on the backs of the Texas Rangers' players and creditors and fans.

Justin Maxwell hit one of Houston's season-high three homers to put his team on top in the fifth inning and the Astros held on for a 6-5 win over the Texas Rangers on Saturday night. Maxwell's second home run of the year, and first since his first at-bat as an Astro earlier this season, came with one on and two outs in the fifth inning to make it 5-4. Chris Snyder had a solo shot in the third and Carlos Lee's two-run homer in the fourth helped close the gap. The Rangers took an early lead thanks to a four-run third inning, highlighted by David Murphy's three-run...

Justin Maxwell hit one of Houston's season-high three homers to put his team on top in the fifth inning and the Astros held on for a 6-5 win over the Texas Rangers on Saturday night. Maxwell's second home run of the year, and first since his first at-bat as an Astro earlier this season, came with one on and two outs in the fifth inning to make it 5-4. Chris Snyder had a solo shot in the third and Carlos Lee's two-run homer in the fourth helped close the gap. The Rangers took an early lead thanks to a four-run third inning, highlighted by David Murphy's three-run inside-the-park home...

Houston starter Jordan Lyles threw four good innings on Sunday against the Texas Rangers. Unfortunately for the Astros they came after a terrible first inning. Colby Lewis allowed four hits in eight-plus innings and drove in two runs, and the Rangers took a five-run lead in the first inning before coasting to a 6-1 win over Houston. Lyles (0-1) yielded nine hits and six runs — both season highs — in five innings in his third start. The 21-year-old, who has spent most of the season in Triple-A, walked three and struck out six. ...

Colby Lewis allowed four hits in eight-plus innings and drove in two runs, and the Texas Rangers took a five-run lead in the first inning before coasting to a 6-1 win over the Houston Astros on Sunday. Lewis (4-3) capped the Rangers' first-inning scoring with a bases-loaded, two-out single to center field to score two. The Rangers got to Houston starter Jordan Lyles early, scoring on a sacrifice fly by Josh Hamilton and adding two more on a single by Nelson Cruz before the hit by Lewis.

Veteran righthander Roy Oswalt, a free-agent, threw bullpen sessions for the Philadelphia Phillies last week and the Boston Red Sox this week, major-league sources told Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports and MLB Network. Rosenthal said Oswalt would throw for two more teams in the next few days. Rosenthal's report said that Oswalt rejected offers from the Red Sox and Detroit Tigers last offseason. His preference then was to play for either the Texas Rangers or St. Louis Cardinals, but he has since decided to consider other teams.

Yu Darvish pitched 7 2-3 strong innings and Adrian Beltre had a two-run homer to help the Texas Rangers beat the Oakland Athletics 4-1 on Wednesday night. Darvish (6-1) gave up one run and four hits while striking out seven to win his sixth game in seven decisions. After giving up a run in the first, Darvish settled down and retired 11 of the last 15 batters he faced. He lowered his ERA to 2.60. Mike Adams struck out Johnny Gomes, who represented the tying run, for the final out in the eighth.

C.J. Wilson really wanted to pitch against the Texas Rangers, so much so that he became the first major leaguer in 11 seasons to start consecutive games. After the rain-interrupted series opener when he faced only five batters against his former team, Wilson worked into the sixth inning Saturday to lead the Los Angeles Angels to a 4-2 win over Texas. "I did a lot of homework and stuff, and wanted to put it to use," said Wilson, insisting that it wasn't personal facing the team he pitched for in the last two World Series.

Josh Hamilton hit two more home runs, Yu Darvish struck out seven and the Texas Rangers beat the Los Angeles Angels 10-3 in a rain-interrupted game Friday night when C.J. Wilson faced only five batters against his old team. Both of Hamilton's solo homers came after a one-hour, 56-minute rain delay in the first inning when the Rangers went ahead to stay against Wilson (4-3), their No. 1 starter last season who left in free agency after their second consecutive World Series appearance.

Yu Darvish pitched 7 2-3 strong innings and Adrian Beltre had a two-run homer to help the Texas Rangers beat the Oakland Athletics 4-1 on Wednesday night. Darvish (6-1) gave up one run and four hits while striking out seven to win his sixth game in seven decisions. After giving up a run in the first, Darvish settled down and retired 11 of the last 15 batters he faced. He lowered his ERA to 2.60. Mike Adams struck out Johnny Gomes, who represented the tying run, for the final out in the eighth.

Josh Hamilton hit two more home runs, Yu Darvish struck out seven and the Texas Rangers beat the Los Angeles Angels 10-3 in a rain-interrupted game Friday night when C.J. Wilson faced only five batters against his old team. Both of Hamilton's solo homers came after a one-hour, 56-minute rain delay in the first inning when the Rangers went ahead to stay against Wilson (4-3), their No. 1 starter last season who left in free agency after their second consecutive World Series appearance.

After Colby Lewis had a performance he categorized quite accurately as "weird," Josh Hamilton hit a drive that is becoming quite typical. The result for the Texas Rangers was a split of their doubleheader against the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday. In the opener, Lewis gave up a career-high five home runs — including one to each of the first three batters he faced — in a 6-5 defeat. Then Hamilton hit his major league-leading 15th homer, a long two-run shot that propelled Texas to a 7-3 victory.