• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Tigers-Rangers Preview

Sep 15, 2010 - 5:10 AM By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO STATS Writer

Detroit (72-72) at Texas (80-63), 8:05 p.m. EDT

Even without Josh Hamilton, the Texas Rangers are overpowering opponents and cruising to their first division title in 11 years.

The Rangers look to extend their winning streak to seven and complete a two-game sweep when they host the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday night.

Texas (81-63) is expected to be without Hamilton, baseball's leader with a .361 average, for a 10th consecutive game due to recurring pain from bruised ribs. The left fielder had limited batting practice Tuesday for the first time since the end of August, but the session was stopped due to the injury.

The club didn't seem to miss him hours later, collecting 14 hits en route to its sixth straight win, 11-4 over Detroit (72-73) to open this two-game set. All nine starters got a hit and all but two scored runs for the Rangers, who were coming off a weekend sweep of the major league-best New York Yankees - a potential playoff opponent.

"Our biggest goal is to get contributions up and down our lineup, be as versatile as we can and find ways to score runs in different ways," said third baseman Michael Young, who had three hits, three RBIs and three runs Tuesday. "If we do that, we should be in good shape."

The Rangers now lead Oakland by nine games atop the AL West with 18 to play.

Colby Lewis (10-12, 3.86) will try to get them closer to the playoffs Wednesday by setting a career high in wins.

The right-hander was impressive Thursday, yielding one run with eight strikeouts in 6 1-3 innings of a 4-2 win at Toronto. He had been 0-7 with a 5.07 ERA in his previous nine outings.

That rough stretch started with a 4-1 loss at Detroit on July 21, when Lewis gave up four runs and nine hits in seven innings.

"He's been pitching well, it's just been a string of bad luck for him, not getting the breaks when he needs them," first baseman Matt Moreland said.

Lewis, who made two appearances for the Tigers in 2006, won his only start against his former club at Rangers Ballpark on April 25. He gave up four runs in 6 1-3 innings of an 8-4 victory, striking out 10.

The Tigers, losers of three of four, will send Armando Galarraga (4-5, 3.89) to the mound one day ahead of schedule after Rick Porcello was scratched due to an injured right index finger.

Galarraga is becoming frustrated at a lack of support. He has a 2.59 ERA in his last four starts, but has received 10 total runs from his offense and hasn't gotten a decision.

The right-hander saw that trend continue Friday, as he allowed three runs in seven innings of the Tigers' 6-3 loss to Baltimore.

"I felt good. I just want to get a win," Galarraga told the Tigers' official website. "The season's almost over, and I have four wins. It's not like I think I don't throw the ball good. I've been throwing the ball good.

"You see my numbers. There's only four wins. What are you going to say? I already have 100-something innings. Four wins the whole year? Sometimes you get frustrated, because you want to see more wins."

Galarraga has lost his last two starts against the Rangers, allowing eight runs over 14 1-3 innings and receiving two total runs of support.