Andrus Ends Slump, Helps Rangers Beat Brewers

Elvis Andrus broke out of a slump with two hits and two RBIs, and the Texas Rangers rallied for three runs in the seventh inning to beat the Milwaukee Brewers 5-4 Wednesday night.

The AL West-leading Rangers were 7-40 when trailing after six innings before the rally that began in the seventh. Andrus had RBI single to snap an 0-for-13 skid and Ian Kinsler a two-run single that turned a two-run deficit into a lead for Texas.

Milwaukee's Juan Francisco homered twice and drove in four runs.

After the Brewers snapped the Rangers' season-high eight-game win streak on Tuesday night, Texas won for the 14th time in 16 games.

Matt Garza gave up eight hits and four runs in 5 2-3 innings. But Neal Cotts, Jason Frasor (4-2), Tanner Scheppers and Joe Nathan combined to shut down the Brewers.

Nathan notched his 36th save in 38 tries.

Milwaukee right hander Tyler Thornburg gave up one earned run in six innings, receiving a no-decision for the third time in three starts.

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But the Brewers bullpen fell apart in the seventh. Left-hander Michael Gonzalez walked the two batters he faced, then John Axford walked pinch-hitter Jeff Baker to load the bases with no outs.

After a Leonys Martin strikeout, Andrus hit a line drive single to cut the Rangers' deficit to 4-3. Burke Badenhop relieved Axford (5-6) and promptly gave up the two-run single to Kinsler.

The Rangers started off the scoring as Kinsler made it 1-0 after Adrian Beltre singled. They led 2-1 when David Murphy led off the third by reaching first on an error, moving to second on a balk then scoring on Andrus' single past a diving Scooter Gannett.

Francisco hit a 428 foot homer in the second. His second long ball was a three-run shot and gave Milwaukee at 4-2 lead in the fourth inning.

It was Francisco's second multihomer game, the last being April 16 when he was playing for the Braves against Kansas City.

Twice Martin, the center fielder, and third baseman Jurickson Profar hooked up for impressive putouts.

In the first, Martin threw out Juan Segura as Profar stretched out for the catch and made the tag just as Segura was sliding into Profar's foot.

And in the sixth, Profar came a foot off the bag to his left then reached down quickly to tag Carlos Gomez for the out. Martin has a team-leading 10 outfield assists this season, which is tied for first in the American League.

The game was delayed 37 minutes. Tuesday's game was delayed 42 minutes.

NOTES: RHP Alexi Ogando had a CT scan on his right shoulder Wednesday after complaining of soreness following Tuesday's start. Ogando (5-4) pitched 6 1-3 innings and threw only 73 pitches in the loss. Ogando has been on the DL twice this season, the last time ending on July 23 because of shoulder inflammation. . The Rangers acquired LHP Travis Blackley from the Houston Astros for cash considerations before the game. Blackley, who was 1-1 with a 4.89 ERA in 42 relief appearances for the Astros this season, was assigned to Triple-A Round Rock. . Aramis Ramirez was in the lineup as designated hitter on Wednesday in his second game back after being out for more than a month with a knee injury.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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