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ARLINGTON (AP) - Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington stood up from his office chair and started wildly shaking his knees back and forth.

While exaggerating how nervous he might be about the AL West race with the Los Angeles Angels, the division-leading manager and his team know things will be much tighter down the stretch this season.

They already are.

“Think about it. If you’ve got a seven-game lead, of course you’re more comfortable,” Washington said after settling back into his chair. “But that doesn’t mean that panic sets in.”

Texas (76-59) took a three-game lead into its off day Monday, after playing 17 consecutive days with only one other break since Aug. 1. There are 27 regular-season games left, the last three at Los Angeles in four weeks.

“They’re not going away. They’re a good team. Everybody knows that,” second baseman Ian Kinsler said. “We didn’t expect them to do that last year, it was just kind of luck of the draw.”

At the same point last season before the Rangers won their first AL pennant, they had an eight-game division lead. That never got smaller than seven and they clinched the division title with eight games left.

The Rangers found out Monday they will be without slugging right fielder Nelson Cruz for about three weeks because of another hamstring injury. An MRI revealed a grade 1 strain for Cruz, who got hurt running out a double in Sunday night’s 9-5 victory over Los Angeles.

Cruz missed 51 games last season because of three different stints on the disabled list with issues with both hamstrings. He was on the DL for 17 games earlier this year because of a right quadriceps strain.

Texas went through most of the final month of the regular season last year without AL MVP Josh Hamilton and Michael Young, though both got back for the playoffs.

Before rallying Sunday night against Angels ace Jered Weaver, Texas had lost seven of 10 games. The division gap would have been trimmed to a single game without that comeback.

Their losing stretch began with a 2-1 loss at Los Angeles on Aug. 18, when Texas was three outs away from a four-game sweep and a season-high division lead of eight games. But Mark Trumbo hit a game-ending two-run homer.

“We had a hiccup, had some bumps in our starting rotation, had some things out the bullpen that didn’t work. We had some days where we didn’t put the runs on the board,” Washington said. “It happens. Every team in the game is going through it. We just hit it right now.”

At the same time, the Angeles had a season-best six-game winning streak. They won seven of eight before their last scheduled game at Rangers Ballpark this season.

The Rangers have been alone atop the AL West since July 6, when they were early in a 12-game winning streak.

Boston took three of four at Texas in a potential playoff preview last week. The Red Sox lost the opener 4-0, but then won 11-5, 13-2 and 6-0. The Rangers rebounded to win two of three against Los Angeles.

The Rangers go to Fenway Park this weekend after wrapping up their 10-game homestand with three against Tampa Bay. Texas plays 15 of its last 27 games on the road.

“We’ve been grinding, battling lately,” Young said. “We’ll gladly take this off day and get ready for the last stretch. We like where we’re at. We’ve been down this road before so we know what it takes to win.”

Young, the longest-tenured Ranger in his 11th season, asked to be traded last winter when the team acquired All-Star third baseman Adrian Beltre and said the plan was to use Young primarily as a designated hitter. Young stayed and has responded with one of his best seasons.

As of Monday, Young was second in the majors with a .336 batting average and 11th with his team-best 87 RBIs.

With Beltre missing the last 35 games because of a left hamstring injury, Young has been mostly at third base.

Beltre was scheduled to begin a rehab assignment for Triple-A Round Rock on Monday, and could be back before the Rangers go to Boston this weekend.

Hamilton and Elvis Andrus snapped out of extended slumps with three hits each Sunday night. A pitch after Andrus had an RBI triple, Hamilton hit a tying two-run homer. Hamilton later drove home the go-ahead run with a single in the seventh.

“Our team, we like our position for sure,” Andrus said. “We have way more experience. Everybody, including myself and our pitching, is much different. We see a lot of good things, a lot of positive things. We just have to continue to play hard.”

After that much-needed break before the stretch.

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

ARLINGTON — Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington stood up from his office chair and started wildly shak-ing his knees back and forth.

While exaggerating how nervous he might be about the AL West race with the Los Angeles Angels, the division-leading manager and his team know things will be much tighter down the stretch this season.

They already are.

“Think about it. If you’ve got a seven-game lead, of course you’re more comfortable,” Washington said after set-tling back into his chair. “But that doesn’t mean that panic sets in.”

Texas (76-59) took a three-game lead into its off day Monday, after playing 17 consecutive days with only one other break since Aug. 1. There are 27 regular-season games left, the last three at Los Angeles in four weeks.

“They’re not going away. They’re a good team. Everybody knows that,” second baseman Ian Kinsler said. “We didn’t expect them to do that last year, it was just kind of luck of the draw.”

At the same point last season before the Rangers won their first AL pennant, they had an eight-game division lead. That never got smaller than seven and they clinched the division title with eight games left.

The Rangers found out Monday they will be without slugging right fielder Nelson Cruz for about three weeks be-cause of another hamstring injury. An MRI revealed a grade 1 strain for Cruz, who got hurt running out a double in Sunday night’s 9-5 victory over Los Angeles.

Cruz missed 51 games last season because of three different stints on the disabled list with issues with both ham-strings. He was on the DL for 17 games earlier this year because of a right quadriceps strain.

Texas went through most of the final month of the regular season last year without AL MVP Josh Hamilton and Michael Young, though both got back for the playoffs.

Before rallying Sunday night against Angels ace Jered Weaver, Texas had lost seven of 10 games. The division gap would have been trimmed to a single game without that comeback.

Their losing stretch began with a 2-1 loss at Los Angeles on Aug. 18, when Texas was three outs away from a four-game sweep and a season-high division lead of eight games. But Mark Trumbo hit a game-ending two-run homer.

“We had a hiccup, had some bumps in our starting rotation, had some things out the bullpen that didn’t work. We had some days where we didn’t put the runs on the board,” Washington said. “It happens. Every team in the game is going through it. We just hit it right now.”

At the same time, the Angeles had a season-best six-game winning streak. They won seven of eight before their last scheduled game at Rangers Ballpark this season.

The Rangers have been alone atop the AL West since July 6, when they were early in a 12-game winning streak.

Boston took three of four at Texas in a potential playoff preview last week. The Red Sox lost the opener 4-0, but then won 11-5, 13-2 and 6-0. The Rangers rebounded to win two of three against Los Angeles.

The Rangers go to Fenway Park this weekend after wrapping up their 10-game homestand with three against Tampa Bay. Texas plays 15 of its last 27 games on the road.

“We’ve been grinding, battling lately,” Young said. “We’ll gladly take this off day and get ready for the last stretch. We like where we’re at. We’ve been down this road before so we know what it takes to win.”

Young, the longest-tenured Ranger in his 11th season, asked to be traded last winter when the team acquired All-Star third baseman Adrian Beltre and said the plan was to use Young primarily as a designated hitter. Young stayed and has responded with one of his best seasons.

As of Monday, Young was second in the majors with a .336 batting average and 11th with his team-best 87 RBIs.

With Beltre missing the last 35 games because of a left hamstring injury, Young has been mostly at third base.

Beltre was scheduled to begin a rehab assignment for Triple-A Round Rock on Monday, and could be back before the Rangers go to Boston this weekend.

Hamilton and Elvis Andrus snapped out of extended slumps with three hits each Sunday night. A pitch after An-drus had an RBI triple, Hamilton hit a tying two-run homer. Hamilton later drove home the go-ahead run with a single in the seventh.

“Our team, we like our position for sure,” Andrus said. “We have way more experience. Everybody, including myself and our pitching, is much different. We see a lot of good things, a lot of positive things. We just have to con-tinue to play hard.”

After that much-needed break before the stretch.

– Stephen Hawkins

Rangers’ Cruz expected out 3 weeks with hamstring

ARLINGTON — Texas slugger Nelson Cruz is expected to miss about three weeks with another hamstring injury.

The AL West-leading Rangers said an MRI on Monday revealed a grade 1 strain of Cruz’s left hamstring. The right fielder will get an injection from team physician Dr. Keith Meister that is intended to stimulate the healing process.

Cruz got hurt when running out a double in Sunday night’s 9-5 victory over the chasing Los Angeles Angles.

Cruz missed 51 games last season because of three stints on the disabled list with issues with both hamstrings. He was on the DL for 17 games earlier this year because of a strained right quadriceps muscle.

In 113 games this season, Cruz is hitting .270 with a team-leading 28 home runs and 84 RBIs.

The Rangers were off Monday, but were expected to add another outfielder before Tuesday’s game against Tampa Bay. The addition could be Cuban outfielder Leonys Martin from Triple-A Round Rock.

AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez

Texas Rangers’ Josh Hamilton follows through on a single to right off of Los Angeles Angels reliever Fernando Rodney in the eighth inning of a baseball game, Sunday, Aug. 28, 2011, in Arlington, Texas. Hamilton broke out of a slump with a long two-run homer and the tie-breaking RBI single for the AL West-leading Rangers, who rallied for a 9-5 victory over the chasing Angels.

Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington stood up from his office chair and started wildly shaking his knees back and forth.
While exaggerating how nervous he might be about the AL West race with the Los Angeles Angels, the division-leading manager and his team know things will be much tighter down the stretch this season.
They already are.
“Think about it. If you’ve got a seven-game lead, of course you’re more comfortable,” Washington said after settling back into his chair. “But that doesn’t mean that panic sets in.”
Texas (76-59) took a three-game lead into its off day Monday, after playing 17 consecutive days with only one other break since Aug. 1. There are 27 regular-season games left, the last three at Los Angeles in four weeks.
“They’re not going away. They’re a good team. Everybody knows that,” second baseman Ian Kinsler said. “We didn’t expect them to do that last year, it was just kind of luck of the draw.”
At the same point last season before the Rangers won their first AL pennant, they had an eight-game division lead. That never got smaller than seven and they clinched the division title with eight games left.
The Rangers found out Monday they will be without slugging right fielder Nelson Cruz for about three weeks because of another hamstring injury. An MRI revealed a grade 1 strain for Cruz, who got hurt running out a double in Sunday night’s 9-5 victory over Los Angeles.
Cruz missed 51 games last season because of three different stints on the disabled list with issues with both hamstrings. He was on the DL for 17 games earlier this year because of a right quadriceps strain.
Texas went through most of the final month of the regular season last year without AL MVP Josh Hamilton and Michael Young, though both got back for the playoffs.
Before rallying Sunday night against Angels ace Jered Weaver, Texas had lost seven of 10 games. The division gap would have been trimmed to a single game without that comeback.
Their losing stretch began with a 2-1 loss at Los Angeles on Aug. 18, when Texas was three outs away from a four-game sweep and a season-high division lead of eight games. But Mark Trumbo hit a game-ending two-run homer.
“We had a hiccup, had some bumps in our starting rotation, had some things out the bullpen that didn’t work. We had some days where we didn’t put the runs on the board,” Washington said. “It happens. Every team in the game is going through it. We just hit it right now.”
At the same time, the Angeles had a season-best six-game winning streak. They won seven of eight before their last scheduled game at Rangers Ballpark this season.
The Rangers have been alone atop the AL West since July 6, when they were early in a 12-game winning streak.
Boston took three of four at Texas in a potential playoff preview last week. The Red Sox lost the opener 4-0, but then won 11-5, 13-2 and 6-0. The Rangers rebounded to win two of three against Los Angeles.
The Rangers go to Fenway Park this weekend after wrapping up their 10-game homestand with three against Tampa Bay. Texas plays 15 of its last 27 games on the road.
“We’ve been grinding, battling lately,” Young said. “We’ll gladly take this off day and get ready for the last stretch. We like where we’re at. We’ve been down this road before so we know what it takes to win.”
Young, the longest-tenured Ranger in his 11th season, asked to be traded last winter when the team acquired All-Star third baseman Adrian Beltre and said the plan was to use Young primarily as a designated hitter. Young stayed and has responded with one of his best seasons.
As of Monday, Young was second in the majors with a .336 batting average and 11th with his team-best 87 RBIs.
With Beltre missing the last 35 games because of a left hamstring injury, Young has been mostly at third base.
Beltre was scheduled to begin a rehab assignment for Triple-A Round Rock on Monday, and could be back before the Rangers go to Boston this weekend.
Hamilton and Elvis Andrus snapped out of extended slumps with three hits each Sunday night. A pitch after Andrus had an RBI triple, Hamilton hit a tying two-run homer. Hamilton later drove home the go-ahead run with a single in the seventh.
“Our team, we like our position for sure,” Andrus said. “We have way more experience. Everybody, including myself and our pitching, is much different. We see a lot of good things, a lot of positive things. We just have to continue to play hard.”
After that much-needed break before the stretch.

ARLINGTON — The first question Josh Hamilton was asked Monday afternoon in the clubhouse concerned whether or not the 2010 American League MVP had discussed his role as designated hitter with manager Ron Washington.

They had talked, but not about details.

“[Washington] said ‘It’s good to have you back,’” Hamilton said. “I said, ‘It’s good to be back.’”

Washington said both Hamilton and outfielder Nelson Cruz needed no alterations of strategy.

“I don’t want them to approach [the game] any differently,” Washington said. “I just want them to play baseball. They have to be smart in what they do [on the field.]“

The outfielder has been on the disabled list since April 12, when he fractured the humerus bone in his right arm sliding into home at Detroit.

But Hamilton said he wouldn’t be playing any less aggressively or tentatively upon rejoining the Rangers. He cited his Christianity as the primary reason.

“[I can play] however long God has planned for me,” Hamilton said. “He gave me the ability to play the game a certain way and it wouldn’t be giving Him glory and doing Him justice if I didn’t do it the way I need to do it.”

He however acknowledged it is hard to decide in a game situation whether to risk his body on a play or play it safe.

“When you’re in the middle of doing something you need to do to help the team win, [everything else] goes out the window, and you just think about [making the play,]” Hamilton said. “The season is getting later and I’d like to stay in there for the rest of the year, but I can’t say I will be. A play might come up where I go after it hard and something might happen, but I can’t not play hard.”

The subject of Hamilton’s injury history came up and he was asked if he was bothered by the suggestion his admitted history of drug use may play a role in his fragility. Hamilton missed 29 games due to injury last year and had DL stints in 2009 as well for bruised ribs and an abdominal tear.

Hamilton said you have to consider how his major injuries have occurred.

“Most of the time, it’s breaking bones, hitting the wall – which I guarantee you, yours would break just as easy, and y’know, diving into bases and playing the game the way it should be played,” Hamilton said. “Maybe I should kind of slack off and just hang out and let balls hit the fence and just play it nice and easy. But I don’t get paid to do that, and the fans don’t pay admission to watch me do that.”

Rangers make moves to accommodate returning stars:

In order to clear room for Hamilton and Cruz to return, the Rangers made a few roster moves Monday afternoon. First baseman Chris Davis, reliever Cody Eppley and third catcher Taylor Teagarden have all been optioned to Triple-A Round Rock.

In addition to reinstating Nelson and Cruz, the club recalled right-handed pitcher Yoshinori Tateyama from Round Rock.

Washington said Tateyama had been playing well for Round Rock and wanted to see if he could give the Rangers “a shot in the arm.”

“[Tateyama] throws strikes and keeps the ball down in the strikezone, I think he learned something about expansion of the strikezone and if he can do that, he can be effective,” Washington said.

The 35-year-old reliever made 14 appearances for Round Rock this season, allowing 17 hits and five earned runs in 21 innings. Additionally, he had 26 strikeouts to four walks and held opponents to a .215 average. Tateyama, who is from Japan, told reporters through a translator Monday it was a “big opportunity.”

“Every hitter hasn’t seen me pitch before, so [my pitches will be harder to hit,]” Tateyama said. “So I’m going to try to be as rested as I can, then the results will come after that.”

Davis was hitting .250 with three home runs and four RBIs for Texas, while Eppley pitched nine innings over 10 appearances with an 8.00 ERA. Teagarden didn’t see much time in the lineup for the Rangers.

Washington said Eppley and the other young players would be back for Texas and needed to use the time in Triple-A to work on their games.

“We feel like [Eppley] needs to get back down [to the minors] and get more consistent,” Washington said.

The Rangers had announced earlier Monday outfielder Endy Chavez would be on his way to the 15-day DL, but later said that had been a miscommunication. A team official said Chavez is not 100 percent, but he is game-ready to come off the bench and should be ready to start in a matter of days.

Cruz ready too:

Nelson Cruz hasn’t been missing from the Rangers lineup for as long as Hamilton, but he said it was hard watching his team struggle from his spot on the DL.

“It’s amazing how frustrated you can get to sit there and watch the game and know that maybe you can do something about it, but you can’t do anything,” Cruz said.

After hitting three home runs in the last three days with Round Rock, Cruz said he’s all set to get back to doing the same in the majors.

“I [had to get] my timing and approach right, and I feel like it’s there,” Cruz said.

He said he’s had no problems with the quad strain that put him on the 15-day DL and it got plenty of work yesterday as the Express scored 10 runs bolstered by Cruz and Hamilton. He hasn’t felt pain in the quad since his last action in the majors, May 3 at Seattle.

Michael Young said the Rangers were just as ready for the return of Cruz and Hamilton as the players themselves. Now they just need to stay in the lineup.

“Obviously to get back to a point where we can get our team healthy is a good thing,” Young said. “But you know getting healthy and staying healthy are two different things… It’s towards the end of May now, and I think this is our first crack for our team to build some momentum offensively. It’s something we’ve been looking for for a long time, so hopefully we can get going now.”