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Rangers send Lewis to mound vs. Red Sox

Aug 23, 2011 - 3:05 PM (Sports Network) - Colby Lewis tries to help Texas beat Boston for the sixth straight time this evening when the American League playoff hopefuls continue a four-game series with the Boston Red Sox at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

In Monday's opener C.J. Wilson was terrific on the mound, while Mike Napoli belted a three-run homer off Erik Bedard to lift Texas to a 4-0 win.

"I was just trying to get a single somewhere and drive in a run," Napoli said of his approach. "I just reacted to it and it just happened."

The AL West-leading Rangers got 6 2/3 innings of shutout ball from Wilson (13-5), who yielded just four hits and two walks while fanning four. Koji Uehara stranded two in the seventh, Mike Adams hurled a 1-2-3 eighth, and Neftali Feliz preserved the shutout in the ninth.

Bedard (4-9) was charged with four runs on seven hits in six frames for the Red Sox, who had won three of four coming in and had a chance to tie the Yankees atop the AL East standings.

Texas was coming off Sunday's embarrassing 10-0 loss to the Chicago White Sox and had lost three of four before Wilson played stopper.

"[Wilson's] stuff is filthy," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. "He's got a lot of good pitches and he went right through us."

Texas holds a 4 1/2-game edge on the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the AL West.

Tonight, Lewis tries to follow up a superb effort his last time out, but hopes for a better result. Lewis tossed seven scoreless innings against the Angels on Thursday, but did not get a decision in his team's 2-1 loss. He is 11-8 on the year with a 3.83 ERA, but is a marvelous 6-1 with a 2.70 ERA in his last 12 starts.

"He's got his fastball back and he's got a good feel for his breaking ball," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "When he has both, he's tough. His breaking ball, that's the equalizer, but it all works off his fastball. It's all happening for him at the right time. We need it from him. We need it from him down the stretch."

Lewis beat the Red Sox in the first week of the season and is 2-1 with a 3.38 ERA in nine games (five starts) against them.

Getting the call for the Red Sox tonight will be resurgent righty John Lackey, who is 6-1 with a 3.93 ERA in his last eight starts. The lone loss in that stretch came on Wednesday against Tampa Bay, as he surrendered four runs (three earned) and six hits in 6 2/3 innings, dropping him to 11-9 on the year to go along with a 6.02 ERA.

Lackey was rocked by the Rangers in a loss to Lewis on April 2, allowing nine runs in just 3 2/3 innings. For his career, he is 11-13 lifetime versus the Rangers with a 6.07 ERA in 34 starts.

Texas swept a three-game set from the Red Sox to start the season.