Cruz Gets Start, Rewards Washington With 3-4 Night

It was reported on Monday that Ron Washington was considering giving Nelson Cruz the night off on Monday night in response to the nasty slump in which Cruz had been mired. It would’ve made sense. Coming into Monday, Cruz was just 3 for his last 26 and coming off an 0-for-4 performance against Cleveland that saw him strike out three times.

Washington left the door open on the move though, saying that since the Orioles’ scheduled Monday starter was the left-handed Brian Matusz, that he might hold off on giving Nellie a rest. Aside from his being a lefty, we’d imagine Wash was also aware that Cruz was 4-for-7 career against Matusz, with two doubles and a homer.

In any case, Washington opted against giving Cruz the night off, and the move paid off.

Cruz went 3-for-4 with a double and a walk and scored three runs in the Rangers’ 14-3 throttling of Baltimore on Monday night, a performance that, hopefully, will get the always streaky Cruz on the right track as the team prepares for a big three-game set with the division rival Angels.