ARLINGTON (November 1, 2011) –Texas Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre has been selected the winner of the 2011 Rawlings Gold Glove Award at his position, as announced late this evening by the Rawlings Sporting Goods Company. It is his third career Rawlings Gold Glove Award.

The Rawlings Gold Gloves are presented for defensive excellence in voting conducted by American League managers and coaches. Staff members may not vote for players on their own teams.

Beltre is the first Ranger to earn a Gold Glove since Michael Young won his lone career honor as a shortstop in 2008. Beltre becomes just the second Texas player ever to win a Gold Glove Award at third base, joining Rangers Hall of Famer Buddy Bell, who took the honors in six consecutive seasons from 1979-84. He is just the 11th different player to win a Gold Glove Award with Texas, joining Bell and current first base coach Gary Pettis as the only players to take the honors in their first season with the Rangers.

Beltre has now won the American League Gold Glove at third base in three of the last five years (also 2007 and 2008 with Seattle), and ends the two-year reign of Tampa Bay’s Evan Longoria at the position. Beltre is the 16th third baseman (both leagues) to win the award at least three times in a career, one of seven players to do it in the American League.

Beltre ranked second among A.L. qualifiers with a .965 (11 E/208 TC) fielding percentage, the fourth-best figure of his career, as he posted the second-lowest error total in his career (10 errors in 2004). He ranked third in the league with 2.86 total chances per 9 innings and did not commit an error in his final 41 regular season games.

Texas has now had a Gold Glove winner in two of the last five seasons (2007-11), this after a Rangers player was on the Gold Glove Team for 16 consecutive years from 1992-2006. Ian Kinsler was a finalist in this year’s Gold Glove balloting, but the Rangers have still never had a second baseman win the award.

RANGERS TO WIN GOLD GLOVE AWARD (11)

No. Player/Position Year(s)

10 Ivan Rodriguez, C 1992-93-94-95-96-97-98-99-2000-01

6 Jim Sundberg, C 1976-77-78-79-80-81

6 Buddy Bell, 3B 1979-80-81-82-83-84

4 Kenny Rogers, P 2000-02-04-05

2 Alex Rodriguez, SS 2002-03

2 Mark Teixeira, 1B 2005-06

1 Juan Beniquez, OF 1977

1 Gary Pettis, OF 1990

1 Rafael Palmeiro, 1B 1999

1 Michael Young, SS 2008

1 Adrian Beltre, 3B 2011

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) – The Texas Rangers clinched their second straight division title on Friday, and celebrated well into the night.

The AL West champions went back to work on Saturday, and they still had plenty in reserve.

David Murphy had two RBIs and the Rangers’ patchwork lineup finished with 14 hits in a 7-3 victory over Felix Hernandez and the Seattle Mariners.

Regulars Ian Kinsler, Josh Hamilton, Adrian Beltre, Nelson Cruz, Elvis Andrus and Mike Napoli were in the dugout for the middle game of the series, and Texas really didn’t need them.

“I want to get one thing straight. When I put nine guys out there that’s on my roster, I expect to win,” Rangers manager Ron Washington said. “Hernandez pitched today, we didn’t play our best guys. So we weren’t supposed to win. But it didn’t happen. We can play.”

Esteban German and Andres Blanco each had three hits for Texas, which has won six of seven. Reliever Scott Feldman (2-1) allowed three runs and five hits in four innings to get the victory.

Rangers rookie Leonys Martin made his first big league start. The Cuban center fielder had two hits and scored twice.

“It’s a testament to our depth,” Murphy said. “Guys hadn’t played in a while. It was a solid offensive effort.”

Hernandez was forced out of the game when Michael Young’s liner went off his right forearm during the Rangers’ six-run fourth inning.

The Rangers had already scored four times in the fourth when Hernandez (14-14) was struck with one out. The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner fell to the ground as the ball caromed toward third base for a single.

Hernandez was attended to by a team trainer, and was soon walking to the dugout, grimacing in pain and done for the day. The right-hander was charged with seven runs, five earned, and 12 hits in his shortest outing since he pitched 3 1-3 innings in an 8-0 loss to the Los Angeles Angels on May 7, 2010.

“I called him, he said he was fine,” Young said. “I have a lot of respect for him.”

Said Hernandez: “That was scary. Nothing’s broke. I was trying to catch (the ball). I’ve been hit before, but not in my arm. It hurt! They were hitting pretty good pitches. They were finding a lot of holes. Then they found me.”

The Rangers trailed 2-1 heading to the bottom of the fourth, but that didn’t last long. German and Endy Chavez had RBI singles and Murphy followed with a two-run single.

After Young’s drive knocked out Hernandez, Jeff Gray threw wildly to the plate while trying to record a forceout at home. Two more runs scored on the error, giving Texas a 7-2 lead.

“It was one of our worst games, if not the worst,” Seattle manager Eric Wedge said. “It was unacceptable. It was ugly. That’s not what I’m about and not what we’re about. I don’t care if you have three games left or 103 games left, that’s unacceptable.”

With four games remaining, the Rangers still have goals. They are competing with Detroit for the AL’s second-best record, with the winner receiving home-field advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

Texas took the lead in the second when Martin doubled and scored on Blanco’s single.

The Mariners responded with two runs in the fourth. Mike Carp had a sacrifice fly and Justin Smoak singled in a run.

Rangers starter Alexi Ogando pitched two perfect innings before he was lifted for Feldman. Ogando, the team’s No. 5 starter, is probably ticketed for the bullpen in the postseason when the Rangers go to a four-man rotation.

Ogando made his first start since Sept. 15 when he threw six shutout innings in a win over Cleveland. The Rangers have given the converted reliever extra rest down the stretch after he easily surpassed his career high for innings.

For now, Washington won’t reveal his playoff plans for Ogando.

“We felt like he did everything we needed to see,” Washington said. “We got some decisions to make. We haven’t totally made them yet.”

With a comfortable lead, the Rangers also were able to look at three relievers besides Feldman as Washington tries to finalize his bullpen for the playoffs. Yoshinori Tateyama, Darren O’Day and Michael Kirkman all pitched an inning.

“It worked out perfect,” Washington said. “It all fell into place.”

NOTES: Before the game, the Rangers raised the division flag high above the ballpark in left center. … Washington said Cruz would play the outfield on Sunday for the first time since returning from the disabled list on Sept. 13. Since then, Cruz has been used as a DH and pinch hitter to protect a tender left hamstring. … Wedge said OF Casper Wells is “pretty much out for the season” because of an equilibrium problem. … Wedge said Smoak would play 1B on Sunday after serving as DH in his last two games. Smoak has been limited by a groin injury. … Seattle C Miguel Olivo banged his right knee into the brick wall behind home plate after chasing a foul popup in the fourth. Olivo was down for a few minutes but remained in the game. … The Rangers are 14-4 against the Mariners this season.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Felix Hernandez closes out his 2011 season today trying to finish off on an above .500 note and reach the 15-win plateau despite playing for another 90+ loss team. Today’s game pits him against young Rangers starter Alexi Ogando.

Hernandez pitched the Rangers well in Seattle last weekend, making just one mistake pitch that Adrian Beltre pounded over the fence.

ARLINGTON, Tex. — Give the Texas Rangers credit for creativity when it comes to celebrations.

Last year the Texas Rangers made ginger ale the way to do things when they won in the playoffs.

Friday night it was the home-run trot.

Texas shortstop Elvis Andrus put an emphatic stamp on the team’s second consecutive AL West championship when he circled the bases following Oakland’s David DeJesus hitting an insurance home run in the A’s 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels.

That Oakland victory, which followed the Rangers’ 5-3 victory over Seattle earlier, started the kind of celebration fans in Arlington are getting used to.

First the Rangers celebrated with ginger ale and their fans on the field. Thousands of fans stayed to watch the Angels lose and see their team celebrate at Rangers Ballpark. Then it was onto the clubhouse where beer, champagne, ketchup, mustard and baby powder were flowing freely in the clubhouse following the clincher.

So was a sense that the Rangers are once again on the verge of something special.

“The best feeling in the world is this right here when you get to celebrate in the clubhouse,” Michael Young said. “You get to celebrate with your teammates after so much hard work. We get an opportunity now to go the postseason and hopefully win a championship.”

The Rangers are a dangerous team right now.

Less than two weeks ago their lead was a game-and-a-half over the Angels with the season-ending series in Anaheim looming large. But like a team that’s been through this saga before is supposed to do, the Rangers responded by winning four consecutive games and eight of nine to take charge of the division.   

Friday’s victory gave them nine victories in the last 11 games and continued a trend of peaking at the right time.

The victory also proved what Texas manager Ron Washington had already known about his club — it is the best team in the West.

“These guys are some of the greatest guys in the game of baseball,” Washington said. “They set a tone for what they wanted to do in February and I’ll be damned if they didn’t reach it. Now we’ve got an opportunity to get back to the playoffs and possibly get back to the World Series.”

Washington said this regular season was different because the Rangers were targeted team in the West all season long. And while they were pushed by the Angels, the Rangers didn’t wilt and won the franchise’s fifth division title.

There is no secret about how the Rangers won the West. They are a complete team, as they showed Friday.

The Rangers hit three more homers and have hit 37 home runs in September. Texas, which is tied with Detroit for the second-best record in the AL, leads the majors in batting average in the month and trails only Detroit in runs scored.

The Rangers won the division with pitching, as Matt Harrison’s 14th victory on Friday pushed the rotation win total to 72, which trails only Philadelphia in the majors.

“This has been the same club since the day Wash took over five years ago,” general manager Jon Daniels said. “The talent’s different, but the message has gotten through. His clubs never panic whether the lead is seven, eight or back down to one. These guys always knew they had a job to do the next day. I know it sounds cliché, but that’s really how he goes about it, how they go about it. They take on his personality and now they’re reaping the benefits of it.”

Texas pushed all the right buttons this season, signing Adrian Beltre and trading for Mike Napoli. Texas also made deadline moves for pitchers Mike Adams and Koji Uehara, each of whom pitched in Friday’s victory.

Beltre also hit a two-run homer Friday, and was able to celebrate with his teammates knowing his made the right move in signing with the Rangers in the offseason.

“I knew we had a good defense, good offense and good pitching,” Beltre said. “I knew this was the best chance for me to get a ring.”

It certainly was the right place to come and celebrate.

ARLINGTON, Tex. — Give the Texas Rangers credit for creativity when it comes to celebrations.

Last year the Texas Rangers made ginger ale the way to do things when they won in the playoffs.

Friday night it was the home-run trot.

Texas shortstop Elvis Andrus put an emphatic stamp on the team’s second consecutive AL West championship when he circled the bases following Oakland’s David DeJesus hitting an insurance home run in the A’s 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels.

That Oakland victory, which followed the Rangers’ 5-3 victory over Seattle earlier, started the kind of celebration fans in Arlington are getting used to.

First the Rangers celebrated with ginger ale and their fans on the field. Thousands of fans stayed to watch the Angels lose and see their team celebrate at Rangers Ballpark. Then it was onto the clubhouse where beer, champagne, ketchup, mustard and baby powder were flowing freely in the clubhouse following the clincher.

So was a sense that the Rangers are once again on the verge of something special.

“The best feeling in the world is this right here when you get to celebrate in the clubhouse,” Michael Young said. “You get to celebrate with your teammates after so much hard work. We get an opportunity now to go the postseason and hopefully win a championship.”

The Rangers are a dangerous team right now.

Less than two weeks ago their lead was a game-and-a-half over the Angels with the season-ending series in Anaheim looming large. But like a team that’s been through this saga before is supposed to do, the Rangers responded by winning four consecutive games and eight of nine to take charge of the division.   

Friday’s victory gave them nine victories in the last 11 games and continued a trend of peaking at the right time.

The victory also proved what Texas manager Ron Washington had already known about his club — it is the best team in the West.

“These guys are some of the greatest guys in the game of baseball,” Washington said. “They set a tone for what they wanted to do in February and I’ll be damned if they didn’t reach it. Now we’ve got an opportunity to get back to the playoffs and possibly get back to the World Series.”

Washington said this regular season was different because the Rangers were targeted team in the West all season long. And while they were pushed by the Angels, the Rangers didn’t wilt and won the franchise’s fifth division title.

There is no secret about how the Rangers won the West. They are a complete team, as they showed Friday.

The Rangers hit three more homers and have hit 37 home runs in September. Texas, which is tied with Detroit for the second-best record in the AL, leads the majors in batting average in the month and trails only Detroit in runs scored.

The Rangers won the division with pitching, as Matt Harrison’s 14th victory on Friday pushed the rotation win total to 72, which trails only Philadelphia in the majors.

“This has been the same club since the day Wash took over five years ago,” general manager Jon Daniels said. “The talent’s different, but the message has gotten through. His clubs never panic whether the lead is seven, eight or back down to one. These guys always knew they had a job to do the next day. I know it sounds cliché, but that’s really how he goes about it, how they go about it. They take on his personality and now they’re reaping the benefits of it.”

Texas pushed all the right buttons this season, signing Adrian Beltre and trading for Mike Napoli. Texas also made deadline moves for pitchers Mike Adams and Koji Uehara, each of whom pitched in Friday’s victory.

Beltre also hit a two-run homer Friday, and was able to celebrate with his teammates knowing his made the right move in signing with the Rangers in the offseason.

“I knew we had a good defense, good offense and good pitching,” Beltre said. “I knew this was the best chance for me to get a ring.”

It certainly was the right place to come and celebrate.