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ARLINGTON, Texas -- With one swing in the first inning, Nolan Arenado quickly took the drama out of whether he would match Colorados record hitting streak and set the Rockies up for another rout over Texas. Cheap Dan Fouts Jersey . Arenados two-run double in the first extended his hitting streak to 27 games, matching teammate Michael Cuddyers record streak from last year. It also put Colorado ahead to stay on way to its third lopsided victory over the Rangers in as many nights, 9-2 on Wednesday. "Nolan is one of those guys thats really locked in right now, and it was good to see him get that hit in the first at-bat," manager Walt Weiss said. "I think that kind of set the tone." That was the first of three hits for Arenado, who is hitting .364 (39 of 107) in the streak that started a month ago Friday. His streak is the longest for anyone 23 years or younger since Albert Pujols had a 30-gamer in 2003 when he was 23. "Its pretty cool, pretty cool," Arenado said. "Im trying to stay within myself, Im not trying to get too big, or trying to hit the home run. Im just trying to hit the ball hard. Im going to keep on saying that until the year is over." Carlos Gonzalez homered for Colorado, which has outscored Texas 29-5 in three games this week. The Rockies won 8-2 and 12-1 at home with a combined 34 hits before the teams shifted to Texas for two games. "Weve got to ride this wave while its going good," said Weiss, whose teams 22 wins are tied for the most in the majors. Every starter had a hit for the Rockies, who finished with 16 and got 12 of them in 3 2-3 innings off Colby Lewis (2-2). Jorge De La Rosa (4-3) struck out four and walked three. The lefty gave up two runs over six innings while winning its fourth consecutive start. Adrian Beltre homered for Texas and became only the fifth player in major league history with 100 home runs for three different teams. After not getting a hit until his fifth plate appearance Tuesday night, Arenado wasted no time Wednesday. His double followed consecutive two-out hits by MLB-leading hitter Troy Tulowitzki (.414) and Gonzalez. Lewis got the first two batters out in each of the first three innings before allowing multiple hits each time. But the Rockies failed to score in the second and again in the third, when Arenado was tagged out halfway between third and home by first baseman Prince Fielder after Colorado had two runners caught between bases. The last nine batters faced by Lewis had six singles in a row and consecutive sacrifice flies by Corey Dickerson and Tulowitzki before Gonzalez homered, his seventh of the season capping a five-run fourth to make it 7-0. Lewis had allowed 12 hits twice before, including against Colorado at home two years ago. "I got beat. Thats all there is to it," Lewis said. "I think Colorado just needs to leave town." Colorado had 13 hits before Texas finally got Michael Choices one-out single in the fourth. Beltre followed with his homer to straightaway centre, his second this season after hitting the first a night earlier. Beltre, in his fourth season with Texas, previously hit 147 homers for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1998-2004) and 103 homers for Seattle (2005-09). The other players with 100 homers for three different teams are Darrell Evans (Atlanta, San Francisco and Detroit), Reggie Jackson (Kansas City/Oakland, New York Yankees, California), Alex Rodriguez (Seattle, Texas and Yankees) and Jim Thome (Cleveland, Philadelphia, Chicago White Sox). Scott Baker, whose contract was selected from Triple-A Round Rock earlier Wednesday, pitched the final 5 1-3 innings for Texas. It was only Bakers fifth relief appearance in 167 career major league games, most with the Minnesota Twins from 2005-11 before the right-hander had Tommy John surgery in April 2012. He made three starts for the Chicago Cubs last September. "He came in and gave us a chance," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "He settled in and started getting some outs, but we wasnt able to get to them." NOTES: Rangers 2B Donnie Murphy left the game with a neck strain after tripping over first base trying to beat out a grounder to end the sixth. ... Colorado throws another lefty Thursday in Franklin Morales (3-1, 5.05 ERA). Weiss said Morales is finding his rhythm as a starter again after being a reliever the past 5 years. Colorado has won his last four starts after losing his first two. Cheap Malcom Floyd Jersey . Another is a bunch of groundballs. Finally, theres a game that lasts two hours six minutes. Pavano kept up his recent surge with an efficient six-hitter for the Twins in a 4-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday night. Custom Chargers Jerseys . The squad is expected to be divided into 23 players with seven back-ups, although FIFA regulations require only a 30-man provisional squad to be named by May 13.QUEBEC -- Eugenie Bouchard wasnt thrilled with her play, but she was more than happy with the end result as she helped move Canadian womens tennis to new heights. The Montreal native won both her singles matches in a playoff tie with Slovakia, including the clinching match on Sunday, as Canada advanced to the 2015 Fed Cup World Group. Bouchard, at No. 18 in the WTA singles rankings, beat Jana Cepelova 7-6 (6), 6-3 in front of a spirited home crowd on the campus of Laval University. The win gave Canada a 3-0 lead in the best-of-five tie, and moved the Canadians into the elite World Group for the first time. "I wasnt happy with my level of play in both of my matches, but I am proud that I managed to win them both," said Bouchard, 20. "It was a difficult adjustment for me to switch to hard courts from clay, but sure both victories feel great. "It feels great to know that weve made history here. I played a lot of matches for Canada in the Fed Cup, and I won most of them, so I am proud that I kind of lead this team to the World Group." On Saturday, Bouchard beat No. 137 Kristina Kucova 7-6 (0), 2-6, 6-1 in a close match, to give Canada a 2-0 advantage, after teammate Aleksandra Wozniak of Blainville, Que., defeated Cepelova 4-6, 7-5, 7-5. Canada will now join the eight best teams on the planet in the World Group. A June 4 draw will determine Canadas next opponent, and whether that tie will be held at home or on the road in 2015. "Its a huge accomplishment in my opinion," team captain Sylvain Bruneau said. "Weve never been there. It all started with last years win over Columbia, then we beat Ukraine, a team that was ranked well ahead of us, then Serbia, and now Slovakia." Joining Bouchard and Wozniak (ranked No. 157) on the Canadian team were Torontos Sharon Fichman (No. 89) and Ottawas Gabriela Dabrowski (No. 199) Fichman and Dabrowski lost to Slovakia Janette Husarova and Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 4-6, 7-5, (9-11) in a doubles match later Sunday. After each team took a set, and with the 10-point tiebreakk tied 9-9, Fichman missed her final two shots to hand Slovakia the doubles victory. Dan Fouts Jersey. Because Canada had already defeated Slovakia in the tie, the match was simply a formality. Bruneau said playing in the World Group will test Canadas depth. "We have to keep improving," he said. "Eugenie has to play at the level she is capable of, Aleksandra Wozniak needs to stay healthy, and Sharon Fichman -- who is still young at 23 -- can play both singles and doubles for us. We simply need depth, because there are no weak teams in the World Group, and many of the teams that play to qualify for the World Group have players ranked in the top 20." Bouchards win Sunday, particularly her strong second set, was crucial for Canada because she was struggling on Saturday and was very unhappy with her level of play. "I have to play much better, have to find consistency in my game," said Bouchard after her Saturdays win over Kucova. She struggled with that rhythm again on Sunday in a very close first set. Cepelova took a 5-3 lead, but just like during her match against Wozniak, she couldnt finish off points and lost a first set tiebreaker. Bouchard jumped to a quick 5-0 lead in the second set. When it looked like the last points would be just a formality, Cepelova put up a fight winning three games in a row and pushing Bouchard to make unforced errors. Serving for the match, Bouchard settled down and won last four out of six points to seal the victory. "It was a very good match" said Cepelova. "Just like yesterday I had my chances in the first set and couldnt close, but Eugenie was playing very well in those moments putting a lot of pressure on me." "We are very said as a team because we are not going to play in the World Group" added Cepelova. "It was very tough playing without our top three players (Dominika Cibulkova, Daniela Hantuchova and Magdalena Rybarikova) but Canada definitely deserved to win this tie. I think they are going to do very well in the World Group." ' ' ' |
