CLEVELAND // Scott Feldman earned his seventh consecutive victory, and 16th of the season, while Marlon Byrd and Ivan Rodriguez each homered as the Texas Rangers routed the Cleveland Indians 10-0 on Wednesday. The right-hander Feldman went seven scoreless innings at Progressive Field on the way to his 12th road win of this year's campaign, a club record. He gave up five hits and two walks while striking out five to help Texas complete a three-game sweep of the Indians.
"I'm not doing anything different on the road than I am at home," Feldman said after extending his win-loss record this season to 16-4. "The preparation is the same. "This game can be humbling, so you try not to get too high or too low. I just go out and pitch and hope we keep playing good baseball, keep this going and keep playing into October." The commanding win by the Rangers keeps them right on the heels of the Red Sox for the American League's wild-card berth into the play-offs. Boston, having started the day two games up, beat Baltimore 7-5.
The Rangers staked Feldman to a 5-0 lead in the first inning after Byrd hit a three-run home run and Rodriguez added a two-run homer to knock the Indians starter Fausto Carmona out of the game. Feldman went on to win his eighth consecutive road start, also a club record, to earn accolades from his team mates. "When you have your ace on the mound, you expect to win," Byrd said. "You get a couple of runs early and you feel you have a 'W' in hand.
"He has been unbelievable this year when he steps on the mound. He started the season in the bullpen and now he has 16 wins. He just keeps getting better." Rodriguez added: "He keeps the ball down, uses his breaking ball and change-up and throws everything in the strike zone. He's doing a great job." * Reuters
