The Texas Rangers have recalled RHP Omar Beltre from AAA Oklahoma City and will give him the start Wednesday night in Anaheim, in place of Dustin Nippert. Nippert will instead start Thursday in the series finale, giving ace Colby Lewis an extra day of rest before he makes his next start against the White Sox at home. Beltre, like teammate Alexi Ogando, had not pitched in America since 2004 after battling visa issues. At Oklahoma City, Beltre is 0-5 with a 2.39 ERA in 15 appearances, 5 of them being starts.

By Ryan Osborne

If all goes as planned the Texas Rangers could be sold to the Greenberg/Ryan as early as July 9^th, giving the team the financial ability to pay off their creditors and more importantly become a player in the trade market before the July 31^st deadline. But there’s no guarantee the team will be sold that early and there’s definitely no guarantee the team, despite new ownership, will be able bring on a big contract of a Roy Oswalt or Cliff Lee. So let’s take a look at what the Rangers have now, as far the starting rotation goes, and if it will be enough to carry the team through what appears will be a tight AL West pennant race.

What We Know:

Scott Feldman

Feldman deservedly earned the opening day start after being named the organization’s pitcher of the year award last year when he won 17 games. This year though, has been atypical of the pitching style that brought him so much success in 2009. It starts with his control, or sometimes lack thereof, by leaving balls out of the zone and up in the zone attributing to higher pitch counts and earlier. A year ago, when Feldman took the mound it was almost a lock that the bullpen would only have to work a maximum of two innings and the offense only have to put up two, maybe three runs. Now, with Feldman having a 5-6 record and 5.32, both the bullpen and the offense are having to do much more to win ballgames. Feldman can still provide quality innings but for now, the Rangers will have to live with him giving up four or five runs per start.

Colby Lewis

What if I were to tell you that a pitcher would have minimal success in the major leagues, go pitch in Japan for a couple of years, then come back to America and at the end of June have a 3.28 ERA, 7 wins, and 94 strikeouts? That’s just what Colby Lewis has done and that’s a big part of why the Rangers have a 4.5 game lead in the AL West. Lewis has been pleasantly consistent and intermittently dominant. He was supposed to be the third option in the starting rotation. Now he is the ace. The off-season acquisition of Vladimir Guerrero has gotten the majority of attention and praise but the signing of Lewis has proved to be equally beneficial.

C.J. Wilson

His first seven starts, the bullpen-to-rotation convert, C.J. Wilson, went 3-1 with a 1.48 ERA. His stuff was exceptional as only the Yankees collected more than 5 hits (7) against and his control was even better as he never walked more than three in a start. But when he was roughed up for 7 runs in less than 5 innings against the Angels on May 18^th, it looked like he was back to his old self, the one-thing-goes-wrong-then-breaks-down bullpen man of 2009. His next two starts weren’t much better as he lost both and gave up five earned runs in each. Then, he settled down, has won three straight starts while lowering his ERA to 3.31, and establishing himself as a 6-7 inning, 2-3 run guy, giving the Texas rotation just what it needs- stability.

What We Hope:

Tommy Hunter

Hunter had a chance to make the starting rotation at the beginning of the year but a strained oblique and an already crowded list of rotation candidates kept Hunter in AAA Oklahoma City until he made his season debut June 5^th against the Rays. Since then he has gone 3-0 with a 2.31 ERA in 4 starts. Hunter is still young, 23, and a bit inexperienced, only 26 starts before this year, but he pitches with a calm, consistency and would be nice to have another solid inning guy down the stretch.

What We’re Really Not Sure Of:

Rich Harden

When he’s healthy, Rich Harden is a strikeout pitcher, who shows flashes of dominance but ultimately has high pitch counts and inconsistent outings. When he’s injured, as he is now, he’s just a big contract with no value. This year Harden is 3-3 with a 5.56 ERA. He was dominant on May 3^rd in Oakland and unpredictable just about everywhere else. And worst of all, he lived up to his reputation of being injury prone, when he went to the DL on June 12^th with a strained gluteus. The man pulled a butt muscle. Can’t get much more injury prone than that. Harden won’t return until after the All-Star break and when he does he might not be effective anyways.

Derek Holland

Holland started the year in Oklahoma City, dominated at the AAA level, and somewhat carried that success to the major leagues when he made his debut May 12^th. He pitched well his first three starts, going 2-0 with a 2.68 ERA, but then his shoulder got sore and he was sent to the DL June 1^st.  But when he was rehabbing his shoulder, which is fine now, he tweaked his right knee in a fielding exercise. This setback has delayed his return until after the All Star break. When he comes back, though, there’s no telling how he will pitch seeing that it will be over a month since he last took the mound but he’ll be Texas’ only lefty and will have to pitch good. Bottom line.

Inside the Numbers

Here’s a look at where the Rangers stand among MLB team statistics:

Batting Average: .282, 1^st ERA: 3.94, 12^th

Runs Batted In: 371, 3^{rd                                                    Strikeouts:} 555, 8^th

Home Runs: 73, 10^{th                                                              Saves:} 28, 2^nd

Hits: 728, 2^{nd                                                                                 Whip: 1.33, 15th}

Upcoming Games

The Rangers will finish up interleague play tonight against the Astros then will get a day off before heading out to Anaheim for a big three game series against the Angels beginning Tuesday.  Here are the pitching matchups for those games:

Tuesday- Scott Feldman (5-6) vs. Joel Pineiro (7-6)

Wednesday- Colby Lewis (7-5) vs. Scott Kazmir (7-6)

Thursday- C.J. Wilson (6-3) vs. Jered Weaver (7-3)

Derek Holland’s shoulder put him on the DL, but it is his knee that will keep him there a little while longer. The Rangers announced Wednesday Holland is expected to be out until after the All Star break after tweaking his right knee in a fielding exercise last week at the team training facility in Surprise, AZ. Holland, who is 2-1 with a 4.19 ERA this year, was sent to the DL on June 1st with soreness in his left shoulder. Team officials say the shoulder is healed and “nothing to worry about” but because he suffered a subluxation of his right kneecap he will be forced to miss extra time. Dustin Nippert, who will start tonight against Pittsburgh, will most likely continue to fill in during Holland’s absence.

Tonight

Pit: Ross Ohlendorf (0-5)

Tex: Tommy Hunter (2-0)

Tomorow

Pit: Paul Maholm (4-5)

Tex: Dustin Nippert (2-3)

Thursday

Pit: Jeff Karstens (2-2)

Tex: Scott Feldman (5-6)

Tonight’s starting lineup:

Elvis Andrus SS

Michael Young 3B

Ian Kinsler 2B

Vladimir Guerrero DH

Josh Hamilton LF

Nelson Cruz RF

Justin Smoak 1B

Matt Treanor C

Julio Borbon CF

Two big pieces of information to know before tonight’s game with the Pirates:

- The Rangers activated outfielder Nelson Cruz off the 15-day DL. He will be starting tonight in right field after returning from his second strained hamstring injury of the year. In 32 games, Cruz is hitting .327 with 10 home runs and 34 RBIs and is fourth in the American League outfield All-Star voting, just behind teammate Josh Hamilton.  Outfielder Craig Gentry was sent to AAA Oklahoma City to make room on the roster.

-  A U.S. District Court judge’s ruling may further delay the sale of the team to a group headed by Pittsburgh attorney Chuck Greenberg and team president Nolan Ryan.

Here was the written statement from Judge D. Michael Lynn: “The court concludes that … [the Rangers] must grant them their rights under their loan documents prospectively. While payment of the $75,000,000 plus interest will satisfy and discharge debtor’s monetary obligations as required by [a bankruptcy code], in order for the plan to be confirmed without the acceptance of the lenders … the treatment of the lenders must be modified.”

The bottom line is that the Rangers must modify their plan before the team is sold and according the ESPN’s Buster Olney, that modification most likely will not happen before the July 31st trade deadline. So unless Texas can somehow expedite the team sale, their recently piqued interest in Roy Oswalt and now Cliff Lee will be all for not.

Rumors that the Texas Rangers are interested in a possible trade for Astros ace Roy Oswalt have been confirmed by ESPNDALLAS.com.

Team president Nolan Ryan openly expressed his interest in Oswalt while on a Houston TV station before the start of the Rangers-Astros game Friday night.

“You know, we are definitely looking to improve our ballclub and when you have the opportunity to acquire someone like that you have ot look at it and evaluate it and see if it’s a possibility,” Ryan said.

There also is a connection between Ryan and Oswalt. When Ryan was an assisant with the Astros he worked with Oswalt so Ryan knows what to expect from Oswalt and Oswalt knows what is expected from him by Ryan. Plus, the team is in dire need of starting pitching.

Derek Holland was sent to the DL with shoulder inflammation then tweaked his knee in a fielding session at the Ranger’s training facility in Surprise, AZ. Rich Harden has been inconsistent all season and in his last start pulled a muscle in his lower back so he too was sent to the DL.

Oswalt seems the fit the perfect mold the Rangers are looking for: a durable and reliable veteran pitcher who can be counted on in big games especially in middle of a playoff race.

The only thing hindering Texas from acting now is the much delayed sale of the team to Pittsburgh attorney Chuck Greenberg and Nolan Ryan himself. Until the sale is made final, the team would be unable to take on the large contract of Oswalt or any other big name player for that matter. So sooner the team is sold, sooner we could see Roy Oswalt in a Texas Ranger uniform.

The Texas Rangers enter tonight’s game in Houston with a 38-28 record and a 2 ½ game lead over the Los Angeles Angels in the AL West standings. They have won five in row and eight of their last nine. Perhaps, no opponent would be a better fit for Texas to continue their winning ways against than the Houston Astros.

Houston has been a mess of a team this year, losing their first eight games, having no offense (their leading hitter has a .286 average), and their ace pitcher requesting trades and openly expressing his discontent with the team’s struggles. Their star players have either under produced or been injured and their pitching staff has been spotty at best. Lately, they have lost five of their last six and lost 5-2 to Kansas City last night. They are fifth in the NL Central and stand 11 games back of the first place Cincinnati Reds.

A three game series with Houston this weekend and next and a Pirates series sandwiched in the middle of the week gives Texas the perfect chance to stay hot and finish out interleague play strongly before a big series at the Angels beginning June 28^th.  Here are the pitching matchups for the next three games:

Tonight

Tex: Scott Feldman (4-6)

Hou: Wandy Rodriguez (3-9)

Saturday

Tex: Colby Lewis (6-4)

Hou: Chad Moeler (0-3)

Sunday

Tex: C.J. Wilson (5-3)

Hou: Felipe Paulino (1-8)

With his two RBI single Wednesday night in a game against the Marlins, Michael Young surpassed Ivan Rodrgiuez as the Rangers’ all-time hits leader with 1,748.

This feat is just a small snapshot of what Young has meant to the franchise since coming to Texas via trade from Toronto in 2000.

Young has been one of the most well respected players in the game today, not only for his uncanny ability to get base hits but also for selflessness as a teammate. In 2005, after making his first all-star game and finishing eighth in the MVP voting as a second baseman, he willingly made the transition to shorstop after Alex Rodriguez was traded to the New York Yankees. His first year at the new position, he made the All-Star game once again, won the game’s MVP award, and won his first batting title (.331). Then in 2008, after winning his first Gold Glove at shortstop, he made the move to third base to make room for the organization’s top prospect, 20 year old, Elvis Andrus. He has been perhaps the most consistent and most versatile player the organization has ever had, and at 33 years old, a 3,000 hit career isn’t out of the question.

The Rangers picked up their fifth win in a row Thursday night, a 6-4 victory over the Florida Marlins at Sunlife Stadium in Miami. Rookie Alexi Ogando got the win, pitching 2 1/3 shutout innings in relief of starter Dustin Nippert. Nippert lasted just three innings giving up three runs and seven hits, which gave way to the rookie Ogando to make his second career appearance. Offensively, Ian Kinlser led the way going 2-4 with 3 RBIs and DH Vladimir Guerrero added his 15^th home run of the year, a solo shot into the covered bleachers in centerfield.

Right now the Rangers are playing some of their best ball of the season by not only winning games but finding ways to make comebacks both in the late and middle innings of ball games. What’s even more impressive is that their current five game win streak has come on the road with the added pressure of the Angels starting to gain ground in the AL West standings. Texas now holds a somewhat secure 2 ½ game lead on Los Angeles after their sweep of Florida. There will be plenty more chances to extend that lead in the coming week, as they head to Houston for a three game series with the Astros beginning tomorrow night. After that they’ll travel to Pittssburgh for a three game set with the Pirates before returning home for another three game series with the Astros. This all leads up to a pivotal road series at the Angels beginning June 28^th.

Texas Rangers (36-28) vs. Florida Marlins (31-33)

Starting pitchers

Tex: Tommy Hunter (2-0, 1.80 ERA)

Fla: Anibal Sanchez (6-3, 3.36 ERA)

News and Notes-

-Matt Treanor’s game winning triple in the ninth inning last night was only the third triple of his career…Tommy Hunter (2-0, 1.80) makes his third start of the season for Texas tonight. The 23-year old, right hander has thrown 15 innings in his first two starts, one of those starts being a complete game victory over Tampa Bay June 5^th. As for Florida, Anibal Sanchez (6-3) will take the mound and try even the interleague series at one game apiece. Sanchez is 5-1 his last six starts…Michael Young will try to tie Ivan Rodriguez as the franchise’s all-time hit leader after going 0-4 with 3 Ks last night…Texas will enter tonight’s game with a two game lead on the Angels in the American League West and will try to extend their three game win streak…Ranger OF Josh Hamilton is 6-15 on the current road trip. He has raised his batting average to .313 and is leading the team in home runs with 15. Hamilton is also battling teammate Nelson Cruz for the third starting outfield spot in the All-Star Game. As of yesterday, Cruz and Hamilton were 3-4 in the voting. Vladimir Guerrrero continues to lead all American League Designated Hitters while Ian Kinsler and Michael Young are both third in their positions.