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Aug 1, 2015 - 4:55 AM Cole Hamels has the potential to help the Texas Rangers for several years, but his focus is on the present.

Fresh off throwing a no-hitter, Hamels makes his Rangers debut Saturday night looking to fare better than he did against the visiting San Francisco Giants last month.

With Philadelphia mired in a miserable season and its future potentially bleak, Hamels prepared himself for a trade that involved eight players and was officially completed Friday. While the 2008 World Series MVP looks back fondly on his career with the Phillies that concluded with last Saturday's no-hitter at Wrigley Field, he's eager to move on.

''I'm excited to start the next chapter of my baseball life,'' said Hamels, who has three years remaining on a $144 million, six-year contract that includes a $20 million club option for 2019 or a $6 million buyout. ''(The Rangers) have a lot of great players and there's always a chance in that league. I don't think they are too far away, even this year.''

Hamels, 114-90 with a 3.30 ERA in his 10 seasons, wanted to be dealt to a contender, and at least publicly believes Texas (50-52) can make a push. The Rangers are seven games behind AL West-leading Houston but three out of the final wild-card spot.

They won for the seventh time in the last 10 games Friday by handing the Giants (56-46) their third defeat in the last 16, 6-3.

"There's still a chance, and I like knowing that," he told MLB's official website. "I know I can help be a part of that for the Rangers, and that's what I'll look to do.

"I just want to be a part of it and do what I can. My expectations are to go out there and win ballgames."

Hamels gutted out 129 pitches and struck out 13 during the historic 5-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs to improve to 6-7 with a 3.64 ERA in his 20th start. However, 15 days earlier he allowed season highs of nine runs and 12 hits in 3 1-3 innings of a 15-2 loss at San Francisco.

Hunter Pence hit a grand slam off Hamels in that contest and Buster Posey went 2 for 3 to raise his regular-season average against the left-hander to .524 (11 for 21).

Hamels leaves one of the majors' worst-hitting clubs to join a Rangers team that's averaged 5.8 runs while winning eight of the last 13 contests. Adrian Beltre and Elvis Andrus each hit two-run homers off Madison Bumgarner to help Texas to a third consecutive victory.

Andrus is batting .343 with 10 RBIs in his last 17 games.

Chris Heston (11-5, 3.14 ERA), who threw a no-hitter against the New York Mets on June 9, will try to end the Rangers' surge. This is the first time since 2010 when Matt Garza faced Dallas Braden and Edwin Jackson opposed Roy Halladay that two pitchers who tossed no-hitters in a season squared off in that same year.

Looking to win a fourth straight start, Heston is 5-0 with a 2.11 ERA in his last seven starts and allowed two runs over 28 1-3 innings of his last four.

"He's just been unbelievable to watch this year," teammate Matt Duffy said after the right-hander gave up two of those runs in seven innings of Monday's 4-2 win over Milwaukee.

Tempers flared and the benches cleared Friday after an agitated Bumgarner shouted something toward the Rangers bench as the fourth inning ended on Delino DeShields' pop up. No punches were thrown and there were no ejections.






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