Josh Hamilton, Rangers hand Jered Weaver first loss

ARLINGTON, Texas — Jered Weaver walked off the mound singing along as “Hit the Road Jack” blared over the speakers at Rangers Ballpark.

In his second start since throwing a no-hitter and going for a 6-0 start, Weaver instead matched a career high by giving up eight runs in 3 1-3 innings. His shortest outing since 2009 came in the Angels’ 13-6 loss to AL West-leading Texas on Sunday night.

“That was not what I wanted to do,” Weaver said. “But it was definitely time to hit the road.”

The Angels, who had won three of their previous four series before getting to Texas, are in last place and eight games back in the AL West after losing two of three. Los Angeles won 4-2 Saturday.

Weaver (5-1) gave up a grand slam to Nelson Cruz that lined just over the 14-foot wall in left field the third inning, when the Rangers went ahead 6-2. When the big right-hander got to the dugout after that inning ended, he slammed his cap down and was screaming in anger and frustration.

“”I got him out in front of a changeup. He was able to elevate it and get it out,” Weaver said. “At other places, it wouldn’t have been a homer.”

Things didn’t get any better when he went back to the mound.

Texas started the fourth with consecutive hits before Josh Hamilton, who had already struck out twice, had a two-run double.

When manager Mike Scioscia went out and relieved Weaver, the pitcher left to the Ray Charles tune that serenades so many opposing pitchers when they’re done after a rough night in Texas.

“It’s not the first time they’ve played that with me,” said Weaver, who is 2-7 in 14 career starts at Texas. “I wasn’t insulted by it. It was actually kind of funny.”

Mark Trumbo, Vernon Wells and Kendrys Morales homered for the Angels. Albert Pujols had an RBI single, only his 12th RBI in his 34 games for the Angels.

The Angels scored three runs in the seventh off reliever Mark Lowe to get within 10-5 on Pujols’ hit.

They still had the bases loaded when Koji Uehara took over and Howie Kendrick hit a ball up the middle. But shortstop Elvis Andrus stopped the ball on the run, and flipped it from his glove to second baseman Kinsler to force out Trumbo for the inning-ending out.

Andrus and Cruz both had four hits to match their career highs.

Hamilton, who had nine homers his previous six games, added an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh when Texas got the three runs right back.

Weaver had his shortest outing since Aug. 14, 2009, when he also gave up eight runs in 3 1/3 innings in a loss at Baltimore. In his 185 career starts since 2006, he has gotten fewer outs only three times.

“As the game went on, he left a couple of breaking balls in the heart of the plate,” Scioscia said. “Before he was 2-0 to Cruz, he was 0-2 to (David) Murphy but couldn’t put him away. With two strikes, Young hit a double down the right-field line. That’s not a forgiving lineup.”

Murphy walked to load the bases for Cruz.

All three career games in which he has given up eight runs have been on the road.

Weaver, who came in allowing opposing teams to hit only .174, best in the AL, allowed 10 hits. His season ERA jumped from 1.60 to 2.83.

“He just didn’t get it done tonight,” Scioscia said. “He’s going to be fine.”

Weaver threw his no-hitter May 2 at home against Minnesota, and followed that by allowing only three hits and one run on the road against the Twins five days later.

After Morales drew a leadoff walk in the second against Neftali Feliz (3-1), Trumbo pulled a shot 437 feet down the left-field line into the second level of seats. His team-leading sixth homer pushed the Angels ahead 2-1.

Since Rangers Ballpark opened in 1994, the only other opposing players to hit a ball into those seats were Mark McGwire in 1997 and Evan Longoria in 2008.

Pujols homered off the facade of that second deck in Game 3 of the World Series last October, when he had three homers among his five hits and drove in six runs for St. Louis.

Being back in Texas didn’t provide too much of a boost for Pujols, who went only 2 of 12 in the series with his first walk in 15 games Saturday. He is hitting only .196 with one homer to start his 10-year contract with the Angels.

Notes: Left-hander C.J. Wilson, who started the first two games of the series for the Angels against his old team, got his AL championship ring from the Rangers. The pregame presentation was made in private, not on the field. ... Dan Haren (1-3), who has dropped five of his last seven decisions for the Angels dating to last season, is scheduled to start Monday at home against Oakland.

Rangers' Josh Hamilton is high-risk high-reward

Giants fans are all over the place with opinions on whether the team should sign Tim Lincecum to a contract surpassing $100 million, but imagine the views in Texas on Josh Hamilton.

Hamilton has surpassed Matt Kemp as the most productive hitter in the majors, batting .402 with 18 homers and 41 RBIs, leading the American League in all three categories.

Lincecum's slow start is a red flag for fans (at least according to talk-show and social media fodder) who question whether an extension for five or more years makes sense, even suggesting a trade could be preferable if it beefs up an offense that needs beefing up - as goofy as that might have sounded a few months ago.

With Hamilton, there's absolutely no concern about production. It's about a history of addiction and injuries and whether he's too risky to commit all that money for all those years.

Ordinarily, he'd be a cinch for the next $200 million deal, following Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder, but the Rangers need to weigh in more than numbers and age. Hamilton is a recovering drug addict whose latest alcohol-related relapse was just before spring training, an incident that made the Rangers pull back on contract talks.

They're back on. Hamilton, the 2010 AL MVP who's in the second year of a two-year, $24 million contract, would be the biggest free-agent prize next winter. But how far can the Rangers go on a guy who played more than 133 games in a season just once (back in 2008), will turn 32 next season and has a history of substance abuse?

The Rangers are trying to protect themselves financially in case of further relapses or major injuries. Meantime, Hamilton is doing his best to increase his value by the day, helping to solidify agent Mike Moye's case in negotiations with general manager Jon Daniels, president Nolan Ryan and owner Bob Simpson.

If becoming the 16th player to collect four home runs in a game (plus eight RBIs and a league-record 18 total bases) wasn't enough for the week, Hamilton homered once in Thursday's win in Baltimore, twice in Friday's win over the Angels and once in Saturday's loss to the Angels. He's so far ahead of the rest of the league that his numbers look cartoonish in comparison.

Consider this: He leads the league in homers by seven.

Now consider this: Nobody on the Giants' roster has as many as six homers.

We're seeing Hamilton at his best. The demons are another part of his story, but he has comfort in Texas, a support group that he trusts. While he was stunned during the 2010 World Series with the odor of marijuana from the bleachers in San Francisco and a guy downtown puffing on a joint with a cop nearby, it's different in Texas, where respectful teammates spray ginger ale instead of Champagne at each other after playoff series wins.

During Hamilton's drinking binge at a Dallas-area bar in January, it was teammate Ian Kinsler who reportedly arrived and tried to persuade him to go home. As it turned out, Hamilton admitted later, he stayed out and drank more.

The Rangers know the history, including Hamilton's suspensions in the mid-2000s for repeatedly violating the game's substance-abuse policies, but they're still on board with keeping him long term.

But how long? Pujols got 10 years, Fielder nine and Kemp eight. The Rangers will push for a shorter term but probably need to top Kemp's $20 million annually, a deal consummated before Pujols got $25.4 million annually and Fielder $23.8 million annually.

Either way, Hamilton is enjoying one heck of a salary drive.

Balancing act: MLB scheduling needs feng shui

The A's will play the Astros a whopping 18 times next season.

No offense to the Astros, but is that really necessary?

No, it's not.

Just like it's not necessary for the Giants to play the Rockies 18 times a year.

With MLB moving the Astros to the AL West in 2013, forming two 15-team leagues and forcing interleague games virtually every day, the A's will play more than 10 percent of their schedule in Texas - nine games in Houston, nine in Arlington.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/05/12/SPKC1OHA1H.DTL#ixzz1uoOj9d1M

Josh Hamilton won't be distracted

BALTIMORE -- Texas Rangers slugger Josh Hamilton vowed Wednesday not to let any contract talk distract him from having a successful season.

Less than 24 hours after becoming the 16th player to hit four home runs in one game in big league history, Hamilton said his main concern is staying healthy and helping the Rangers win a World Series.

"I'm not going to let it be a distraction for me," Hamilton said. "I'm going to keep trying to play good and put up good numbers and do what I can. I think they kind of want to see things play out and see me be healthy and play and all that."

The Rangers and Hamilton's agent have an open dialogue and are talking during the season as they try to see if there's a contract that works for both sides, prior to Hamilton becoming a free agent at the end of 2012.

"There's nothing new to say about the situation," Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said Wednesday.

"We want Josh to remain a Ranger for a long time, and he's expressed that the feeling is mutual. Beyond that, we are not going to discuss any potential negotiations, with Josh or other players."

So far, Hamilton is putting up monster numbers. Going into Wednesday, he was leading the league in batting average (.406), home runs (14) and RBIs (36). He said the chances were "very, very, very, very slim" that he'd finish the season on top of those Triple Crown categories.

"Why worry about something that likely won't happen anyway?" Hamilton said. "Just have fun, go out and play and help me team win. That's all I want to do. I want to win a World Series."

Hamilton said he's been "completely able to block" any talk of negotiations out of his mind and just play the game. He said he isn't worried about where he might be in 2013.

"I pray all the time that God has us where he wants us to be at the end of the season," Hamilton said. "If that's with Texas, it's with Texas. If not, I'll be happy to go wherever he wants us to go.

"It's easy for me to focus. I'm under contract with the Texas Rangers to play baseball this season, so what do I have to do on a daily basis to come in and play the best I possibly can that night? Thinking about all that stuff and how to do the best I can that night doesn't allow me to think about what's going on next year."

Hamilton went back to the hotel after Tuesday's game, ordered pizza and hung out with his father-in-law who is in town and Shayne Kelley, who is a Rangers staff member and part of Hamilton's support system. He said he prayed and had a chance to let the historic evening sink in for him. He talked with his wife, Katie, who said she was glad that she could yell as loud as she wanted inside the house and not bother anyone at the ballpark.

"It means a lot. It's special to me," Hamilton said. "But I can't live there. I take the confidence with me of having a good game like I would if I went 4 for 5 with four singles. You don't take the moment to the next day. It's a moment. Ninety-nine percent of the time, it isn't going to happen. One hundred percent of the time in this case. Don't live there."

Hamilton said he knew he was seeing the ball and getting the good part of the bat on it, though he wasn't sure his first or third home runs were going to leave the park.

"Things kind of slowed down for me and you just keep the barrel of the bat on the ball and if it goes, it goes," Hamilton said. "Very rarely do you try to hit a home run and hit one. (The) majority of the time it's a mistake thrown by a pitcher or you hit a line drive and you get the right angle on it to hit it out."

Hamilton said the ball from his fourth homer on Tuesday, given to him by reliever Mike Adams who made sure to secure it after it bounced near the bullpens, is safe in his luggage. He said it's been authenticated.

"It's probably going to end up either in a closet or rolling down the slide in the backyard if the girls get it," Hamilton said.

Hamilton said he spoke to Darren O'Day, his former Ranger teammate who threw the pitch that he hit for his fourth homer.

"I said maybe it was a higher power thing because he was set up way off the plate and he threw it right down the middle," Hamilton said. "I appreciate it."

He also appreciated that the Orioles pitched to him and decided to attack him.

"I think as a competitor for the other team or a pitcher, a new guy coming in, you think 'I want to take my shot, I want to go after him and see what I can do with him.' I give them a lot of credit for that. Some teams might have thrown the ball out of the zone and try to get me to chase or something like that. They came after me."

Hamilton said he wouldn't alter his approach before he received an unexpected rest when rain postponed Wednesday night's game between the Rangers and Orioles.

Moments before the announcement, several Texas players ran from the outfield and slid across the tarp. Hamilton was among them.

"You've got to keep the game fun," he said. "It reminds you of why you started playing as a little kid. When we were little kids we weren't allowed to do that because you'd get in trouble."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

Hamilton Plenty Thankful for His 4 HR-Game

By DAVID GINSBURG AP Sports Writer

BALTIMORE May 9, 2012 (AP)

Josh Hamilton expects it will take some time before he realizes the significance of becoming the 16th player in baseball history to hit four home runs in a game.

He does, however, appreciate how fortunate he was to be playing baseball at Camden Yards on Tuesday night as a member of the Texas Rangers. Because, before his epic performance against the Baltimore Orioles, Hamilton had to do something even harder than launching a quartet of two-run homers.

He needed to save himself from personal ruin.

Hamilton went from first-round draft pick by Tampa Bay in 1999 to out of baseball altogether because of drug and alcohol addiction.

He recovered and returned to the majors in 2007 with Cincinnati, and was traded to the Texas, where he has become a star — the AL MVP in 2010 — while still battling his addiction. He had a relapse before this season, but is off to a torrid start.

After going 5 for 5 with a career-high eight RBIs and setting an AL record with 18 total bases in the Rangers' 10-3 win, Hamilton reflected on what his life was like before this unforgettable night."I think about what God's done in my life, everything I did to mess it up," he said. "To finally surrender everything and pursue that relationship with Christ on a daily basis and understanding when I don't pursue it, I end up messing up. Understanding that what I'm doing and what God's allowed me to do, coming back from everything I went through and allowing me to play the game at the level I play it, it's pretty amazing to think about."

Few players in the game today are playing at Hamilton's level. He's batting .406 and leads the majors with 13 homers and 36 RBIs.

That's impressive, but not as mind-blowing as his heroics against the Orioles.

Hamilton homered off Jake Arrieta in the first and third innings, added another off Zach Phillips in the seventh and topped it off with a one-for-the-books shot against Darren O'Day. During the last at-bat, Hamilton took a mighty hack and missed, lined a foul into right-field seats and then sent an 0-2 pitch over the center-field wall.

"Amazing," Texas manager Ron Washington said. "Josh came out tonight, and he wasn't going to be denied. I know he can't do it every night, but what you saw tonight, he's capable of it."

As he spoke to the media afterward, Hamilton wore a blue T-shirt emblazoned with "BEAST MODE."

On this night, he was a beast with the bat.

"It's like anything else — you do something good or something incredible happens, it takes a little bit for it to sink in," Hamilton said. "I think when I get away from everybody and I have some time to myself, I think it might then."

The last player to hit four home runs in a game was Carlos Delgado on Sept. 25, 2003, for Toronto against Tampa Bay. Two of the 16 players to hit four homers in a game did it before 1900.

"History was witnessed tonight," Washington said.

As he walked to the plate in the eighth inning, Hamilton felt a sense of calm. He had never hit more than two home runs in a game, and he already had three.

"I just went up like it was any other at-bat because if I don't hit one," Hamilton reasoned, "I've still had a really good night."

It got even better after he was circling the bases.

Rangers' Josh Hamilton bashes four home runs

Home Run Derby, except these count.

Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton, who put on a memorable show of power the day before the 2008 All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium, became the 16th player in history to hit four home runs in a game when he connected in the eighth inning Tuesday against Baltimore Orioles right-hander Darren O'Day.

BOX SCORE:  Rangers 10, Orioles 3

All of Hamilton's home runs were two-run shots, the others coming in the first, third and seventh innings as the Rangers beat the Orioles 10-3. He also doubled in the fifth and finished 5-for-5 with 18 total bases, which set an American League record and fell one shy of the major league mark.

"Obviously it's, other than being in the World Series, the highlight of my big-league career," Hamilton said. "I was saying after I hit two I've never hit three in a game before, and what a blessing that was. Then to hit four is just an awesome feeling, to see how excited my teammates got.

"It reminds you of when you're in Little League and a little kid, and just the excitement and why we play the game. Things like that. You never know what can happen. It was just an absolute blessing."

Hamilton connected twice off starter Jake Arrieta before facing lefty Zach Phillips in the seventh. Hamilton was hitting .378 off left-handers coming in and pounced on Phillips as well before delivering the record-tying drive off the sidearming O'Day in the next inning.

Hamilton, a free agent after the season, became the first major leaguer to go deep four times in a game since the Toronto Blue Jays' Carlos Delgado on Sept. 25, 2003 against the then-Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

And it marked another improbable milestone in a career once imperiled by Hamilton's well-chronicled battles with drug and alcohol addiction.

"It's an absolute blessing," Hamilton said on ESPN. "For everything I've gone through, to be in position to do that is awesome."

Though Hamilton made it sound easy.

"I don't have to create power. I just need to make solid contact. You know what?" he asked. "It worked. I just have to put a good swing on it, and it will go."

"He's been doing that to a lot of teams in baseball,'' Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "He's a good player, a really good player. He's one of the best players in the game. You can see why."

Hamilton, 30, set a career high with eight RBI and now has 36 for the season, in addition to 14 home runs. Both totals lead the majors.

His career high for home runs in a season is 32, accomplished in 2008 and in 2010, when he was named the AL MVP.

It's the first time in major league history a four-homer game and a perfect game - in this case, thrown by Phil Humber - occurred in the same season.

***

The 16 players in history to hit four homers in one game:

Player, Team Date Opponent

Josh Hamilton, Texas on Sept. 8, 2012 vs. Baltimore
Carlos Delgado, Toronto on Sept. 25, 2003 vs. Tampa Bay
Shawn Green, L.A. Dodgers May 23, 2002 vs. Milwaukee
Mike Cameron, Seattle on May 2, 2002 vs. Chic. White Sox
Mark Whiten, St. Louis on Sept. 7, 1993 vs. Cincinnati
Bob Horner, Atlanta on July 6, 1986 vs. Montreal
Mike Schmidt, Philadelphia on April 17, 1976 vs. Chic. Cubs
Willie Mays, San Francisco on April 30, 1961 vs. Milwaukee Braves
Rocky Colavito, Cleveland on June 10, 1959 vs. Baltimore
Joe Adcock, Milwaukee Braves on July 31, 1954 vs. Brooklyn
Gil Hodges, Brooklyn on Aug. 31, 1950 vs. Milwaukee Braves
Pat Seerey, Chic. White Sox on July 18, 1948 vs. Philadelphia Athletics
Chuck Klein, Philadelphia on July 10, 1936 vs. Pittsburgh
Lou Gehrig, N.Y. Yankees on June 3, 1932 vs. Philadelphia Athletics
Ed Delahanty, Philadelphia Phillies on July 13, 1896 vs. Chic. Cubs
Bobby Lowe, Boston Beaneaters on May 30, 1894 vs. Cincinnati