After suffering a brief setback on Tuesday night, the Texas Rangers were back to their winning ways Wednesday with an impressive 7-2 victory against the Seattle Mariners.
We say impressive, because the middle of the Texas batting order brought its slugging shoes despite perennial all-star Prince Fielder having the afternoon off. In his stead, first-year manager Jeff Banister penciled in Mitch Moreland, Mike Napoli and Elvis Andrus as his four, five and six hitters, and watched them flourish.
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Combined, the Texas trio finished the afternoon 6-for-11 with all seven runs driven in. That included a memorable seventh inning stretch where they hit three consecutive home runs off Seattle reliever Joe Beimel during a span of four pitches.*
The Rangers hit 1,269 feet worth of home runs in the span of 4 pitches: Mitch Moreland – 379 feet, Mike Napoli - 463, Elvis Andrus - 427
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) August 19, 2015
Bing. Bang. Boom.*Just that quick, the Rangers lead grew from 3-2 to 7-2.
Moreland started the parade with a two-run shot on an 0-2 pitch after Beimel plunked Shin-Soo Choo and retired Adrian Beltre to start the inning. Napoli followed by launching an 0-1 pitch for his first*home run since returning to Texas on Aug. 8. Andrus then capped the barrage with a first-pitch blast.*
Beimel was mercifully lifted by manager Lloyd McClendon after the third home run, leaving him with a pitching line that reads one-third of an inning, four runs, three home runs, one hit batter, on just 19 pitches.*To make matters worse for Beimel, it sounds as though he's physically ailing right now. It's reported that Beimel admitted to feeling arm discomfort leading into Wednesday's outing, which would probably explain his ineffectiveness.
Nothing official, but #Mariners LHP Joe Beimel sure talks like a guy who is headed for the disabled list.
— Bob Dutton (@TNT_Mariners) August 19, 2015
This is why managers plead with pitchers to be honest about their health. Had McClendon and his coaching staff known, chances are Beimel would not have been inserted into a one-run game. *

On the other side,*veteran left-hander Derek Holland was very effective in his first start since April 10, tossing 6 1/3 innings of two-run ball. Holland allowed eight hits, but minimized damage by issuing no walks and striking out six.*Holland lasted one inning in his previous outing this season before hitting the disabled list with shoulder issues.
In the big picture, the Rangers have now won six of seven overall and are three games over .500 at 61-58. They are currently 3 1/2 games behind the Astros in the AL West and are keeping the pressure on all postseason contenders in the division and wild card races.*
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813