Garza pitches 2-hitter as Rays shut out Rangers

ARLINGTON - Matt Garza slammed the rosin bag to the ground and kicked the dirt on the mound.

The Tampa Bay right-hander was angry at himself - not the scorekeeper - after Garza's bid for the first no-hitter in Rays history ended on a debatable call after his two-strike pitch with two outs in the sixth inning of a 7-0 victory over the slumping Texas Rangers.

"I was upset I hung that slider," Garza said. "It's a hit."

Ian Kinsler knocked a looping flyball into short center that ricocheted off the glove of charging outfielder Justin Ruggiano. The play was almost immediately ruled a hit.

"I just thought it was an inappropriate call. I called upstairs and I never do," Rays manager Joe Maddon said.

But any questions about that costing Garza (10-7) a no-hitter were erased when Josh Hamilton led off the seventh with a solid single up the middle.

Still, it was a dominating performance by the 24-year-old Garza, who threw a two-hitter for his second career shutout - both in the last four games. It was also his third complete game.

"It was fun. I had a blast," Garza said. "I kept attacking, kept going after people."

A Tampa Bay lineup missing injured stars Evan Longoria and Carl Crawford hit four home runs in 4 2-3 innings to build a 5-0 lead against Kevin Millwood (6-7), who was reinstated from the 15-day disabled list to start.

Garza struck out nine and walked two while throwing 78 of 119 pitches for strikes. None of the Rangers' four base runners got past first.

"You can have the best offense in the league, which we do, but when a guy is throwing like that you're not going to hit the ball," right fielder Marlon Byrd said. "It's as simple as that."

In his two previous starts since a five-hitter to shut out Toronto on July 29, Garza had allowed nine runs in 10 2-3 innings.

But after Hamilton walked with two outs in the first, Garza retired 15 straight batters before Kinsler's hit.

"That was pretty dominant. Facing that lineup, their numbers are particularly outstanding at home. They're good, real good, not just OK," Maddon said. "He was throwing his fastball down at that velocity, plus command of the breaking ball and the changeup, pounding the strike zone."

Ruggiano, who had replaced B.J. Upton in the field to start the sixth, ran a long way and got his glove on Kinsler's ball but couldn't hold on to it. Maddon made the change after Upton failed to run hard on his double-play grounder that ended the top of the inning.

"He wanted to make a move," said Upton, who had been pulled from a previous game for the same reason. "I guess I'm the only one not running ‘em out."

The Rays (74-47) have a 3½-game division lead over Boston, which was rained out at home against Toronto on Friday night.

Texas (61-62) was shut out for the second game in a row and the fourth time in eight games - after being held scoreless only once the first 115 games. The Rangers dropped below .500 for the first time since June 20.

The Rangers lost 10-0 Thursday night at Boston, ending a three-game sweep by the Red Sox, who had 10-run and nine-run innings the first two games.

"Tonight, everyone was just dead. We just didn't do our jobs," Kinsler said. "We're definitely not playing good right now."

Willy Aybar homered on the first pitch of the fourth, his ball into the right-field corner barely clearing the wall.

Carlos Pena made it 2-0 in the fifth when he hit his 24th homer, and Millwood was gone after Eric Hinske and Gabe Gross hit back-to-back shots. Hinske hit a two-run shot before Gross hit a ball that skimmed the top of the left-center wall.

Millwood, the Rangers' No. 1 pitcher coming off his second DL stint because of a strained right groin, allowed five runs and 10 hits with seven strikeouts and one walk in 4 2-3 innings.

"It seemed like every time I missed, they hit the ball hard," Millwood said.

Notes: The last time the Rangers were shut out in consecutive games was Sept. 2-3, 2004. The Rangers have also been shut out in consecutive home games. They lost 3-0 to the New York Yankees on Aug. 7 before their six-game road trip. ... Byrd left the game with a hyperextended left elbow. He got hurt when he slammed into the wall on Aybar's homer. ... Garza joined Andy Sonnanstine and James Shields as 10-game winners for Tampa Bay. ... Clay Council, the 71-year-old American Legion coach from North Carolina who Hamilton had pitch to him for the All-Star Home Run Derby, threw a few BP pitches to Hamilton before the game. But Hamilton, with only a few hours sleep since the birth of his daughter Thursday, hit only three homers in 13 swings. Hamilton had a record 28 homers in the first round at Yankee Stadium.

Rangers beat deadline to sign top 2 picks

ARLINGTON - The Texas Rangers beat the clock late Friday night, agreeing to terms with No. 1 draft pick Justin Smoak on a minor league contract with a $3.5 million signing bonus.

General manager Jon Daniels said the deal with Smoak, a switch-hitting first baseman who was the 11th overall pick in June, was reached only 15 minutes before an 11 p.m. CDT deadline for agreeing to terms with draft picks, or losing rights to the players.

The Rangers had agreed on terms with second-round pick Robbie Ross, a left-handed high school pitcher, a few hours earlier. He gets a $1,575,000 signing bonus.

"You can select all the right players, but if you can't sign them, they don't do you much good," Daniels said. "Ownership really stepped up and allowed us to sign a couple guys who cost more than typical guys taken in that range. But we feel we've got a couple of good ones."

Smoak, a 21-year-old from the University of South Carolina, hit .383 with 23 home runs and 72 RBIs as a junior last season.

Ross, the 57th overall pick, was one of Kentucky's best high school players. He went 5-2 with a 1.51 ERA, with 75 strikeouts and only six walks in 51 innings last spring for Lexington Christian Academy.

Texas signed its top nine picks and 24 of the top 26 players it drafted.

When Daniels announced Ross' signing just before the Rangers' 7-0 loss to Tampa Bay, he said negotiations with Smoak were ongoing. The GM didn't sound overly optimistic at the time, saying "we're not close."

But they managed to get a deal done in time.

"We had a limit. Obviously it's a business decision and at some point, draw a line to where you're prepared to go," Daniels said. "Fortunately with Justin, he's a guy who wanted to play pro ball and really valued playing soon and for us."

Smoak started all 194 games for South Carolina after joining the team as a true freshman. He was a .333 career hitter with 62 homers and 207 RBIs, and had a .993 fielding percentage after committing only 12 errors.

Daniels said Smoak will go to one of the Rangers' Class-A teams, Clinton or Spokane. Ross is going to the club's spring training complex in Surprise to pitch in the Arizona Fall League.

Ross, who underwent a six-hour physical Wednesday after arriving in Texas, is excited about pitching in the same organization for which Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan is the president.

"Nolan Ryan was such a great competitor. He was always a bulldog when he pitched. I want to be just like him," Ross said. "It's funny to get drafted by the Rangers and him being the president of the team. I like to get in there and compete."

Daniels said Rangers scouts raved about Ross' competitiveness and demeanor on the mound.

"To add that type of young pitcher to our system is consistent to what we're trying to do," Daniels said.

Rangers active Millwood from DL to start

ARLINGTON - The Texas Rangers activated Kevin Millwood from the disabled list to start Friday night against Tampa Bay.

The right-hander had been on the DL since July 24 because of a strained right groin that has bothered him at different times this season.

The Rangers optioned rookie Luis Mendoza (3-6, 8.13 ERA) to Triple-A Oklahoma. The right-hander gave up eight runs in four innings in his last start Wednesday at Boston, and has allowed 36 earned runs in 30 2-3 innings his last seven games.

"We wanted to get him in a more relaxed environment to work things out, to get him back going," manager Ron Washington said. "He needs to go down there and work on his command."

Millwood pitched only 2 1/3 innings in his last start July 23 at the Chicago White Sox before leaving that game because of his groin.

Left-hander Matt Harrison, another rookie starter, is scheduled to start Saturday night. Vicente Padilla, who was scratched from his start Thursday night because of inflammation in his right shoulder, is penciled in for Sunday.