Texas Rangers

Martin was also caught stealing for the second time this season Thursday. He has hit .268/.326/.390 in 89 plate appearances and appears to be warming up on the basepaths.

You also have a 25-year-old who has yet to start a game in the majors and who seemed destined to spend his entire career in middle relief just last year.

But if his numbers in the heavy-hitting Pacific Coast League this year count for anything, a return to the starting rotation has made him an even better pitcher. In 43 1/3 innings, he has a 2.08 ERA and 0.88 WHIP, allowing just 5.6 hits per nine innings.

Rangers general manager Jon Daniels recently pointed out that Lindblom has three plus pitches and is working on a fourth. A varied arsenal usually plays up better in a starting role than a relief role, so Lindblom strikes me as one of those pitchers who will fare better when stretched out. If I had a roster spot to play with, I might just take a flier on him.

Last year, Cruz didn't hit his 10th home run until June 23. He has hit .264/.319/.507 in 160 plate appearances this season.

Andrus bumped his batting average 20 points, giving him a .282/.328/.350 line with 12 stolen bases in 192 plate appearances. Despite the excellent outing, Andrus won't retain the lead-off spot in the lineup when Kinsler returns.

"He finally told me that when we were talking, and I said, ‘You can’t do that’," Washington said. "He’s got a different workload this year. When you are a reliever and you only have to pitch an inning or so, you can pitch through some soreness, but when you are a starter, it’s a different situation. You can make it worse. It’s something that comes with experience. Now that he has the experience of going through this and knowing the situation, hopefully it won’t happen again. Thank God it wasn’t more serious."

Ogando is on the 15-day disabled list with biceps tendinitis.

Kinsler was missing time and the Rangers thought it best to place him on the DL rather than let the injury linger. Kinsler last played May 17 against the Tigers and is batting .302 on the year with seven homers and 20 RBI. 

Grimm (3-3) allowed five earned runs in five innings in each of his two starts before Saturday. He'll take a 4.02 ERA and 36:14 K:BB ratio into Friday's game against the Mariners.

Moreland has secured an everyday spot and has Nando eyeing a 25-homer season, with nine already on the board. Nando also sets an over/under on Moreland's ownership at 87 percent by the end of the month, after he jumped up from 33 to 57 percent just over the last week.

If you are looking for an upgrade at first base, you can definitely do worse than a 27-year-old with growing power who doesn't strike out much and has improved his batting average at least 21 points in each of the last two seasons. That he plays in a solid lineup in a hitter's park is all the more reason to run out and grab Moreland.

Despite having the game in hand late, the Rangers allowed Darvish to throw 130 pitches, the second highest pitch count of any AL pitcher this season and the second time in three starts Darvish has thrown at least 127 pitches. He'll take a 2.97 ERA into a start at home against the A's Tuesday.

"I don’t know if I can do that to A.J. and make him sit another day," Washington told the Dallas Morning News. "Besides, I want to watch the game, too. He’s up here in my office every day telling me he wants to play. I think playing him will be more of a mental day off for me than for him."