Cleveland, OH – Adrian Beltre went 4-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored as the Texas Rangers took a 5-3 win over the Cleveland Indians in the opener of a three-game set.
Michael Young drove in two while David Murphy and Ian Kinsler each had two hits, an RBI and a run scored for the Rangers, who have won three of their last four.
Ryan Dempster (4-1) got the win in the start as he gave up just one unearned run on two hits with three walks and seven strikeouts in six innings.
"I'm just focusing on one start at the time and doing my best whenever I go out there," said Dempster. "I just want to make good pitches and keep the ball down and away from the middle of the plate."
Casey Kotchman clubbed a two-run home run for the Indians, who lost 24 games in a month for the first time since July 1914. Ubaldo Jimenez (9-14) gave up four runs on eight hits with three walks and seven strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings.
"I was fighting too many batters out there tonight," said Jimenez. "Too many times out there I wasn't getting a strike on the first pitch."
The Rangers plated a run in the first as Kinsler singled, stole second and later came home on an Beltre single for a 1-0 lead.
Texas scored two more in the third to open up a 3-0 lead. With one out, Josh Hamilton walked and Beltre followed with a single. After Nelson Cruz struck out, Young and Murphy hit consecutive RBI singles.
In the fourth, Cleveland worked a run across. Jason Kipnis led off with a walk but was forced out a play at second that saw Asdrubal Cabrera reach base. A Michael Brantley groundout moved Cabrera to second and he scored when Carlos Santana singled to right, the first hit of the game for Cleveland, to make it a 3-1 game.
Texas, though, plated a run in the sixth on Kinsler's RBI double and a run in the seventh thanks to Michael Young's run-scoring hit that made it a 5-1 contest.
The runs proved necessary as Cleveland made it close in the ninth. With Koji Uehara on the mound, Carlos Santana led off with a double and Kotchman followed with a blast deep into the stands in right to make it a two-run game.
After getting Ezequiel Carrera to fly out, Uehara stepped aside for Joe Nathan, who set down the next two batters for his 28th save of the season.
Game Notes
The Indians took two of three from Texas in Cleveland in early May ... The Indians had just five wins in August and since the All-Star break are 11-36 ... Texas left 10 men on base and batted 5-for-18 with runners in scoring position.
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