Hamels allowed only two singles over eight innings for his 14th victory and Gomez hit a three-run homer in his first at-bat as the Rangers beat the Cleveland Indians 9-0 on Thursday night in the opener of a four-game series matching division leaders.
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“I just tried to take the first pitch and drive the first pitch”, said Gomez.
“He’s (Hamels) got the whole thing”, Cleveland manager Terry Francona said.
The Texas Rangers turned to their ace to set the tone to start a pivotal 10-game homestand and Cole Hamels did not disappoint. “He’s got a fastball, he can cut it, a great changeup”.
In case it’s unclear, that’s Gomez hitting a three-run home-run on the second pitch he saw with his new team. Texas jumped on Tomlin for three runs in the second inning on a three-run homer from the newly-acquired Carlos Gomez.Texas ended Tomlin’s night three innings later by scoring five times as he retired just one batter in the fifth inning. An RBI single from Ian Desmond and a fielder’s chose RBI by Carlos Beltran pushed the Texas lead to 5-0. Tomlin and Salazar are a combined 0-7 in eight starts in August.
While Tomlin (11-8) failed to get past the fifth inning for the fourth time this month, the Indians managed only two singles in eight innings against left-hander Cole Hamels (14-4), who struck out eight without a walk.
“My job is to give us a chance to win, and right now I’m not doing my job”, Tomlin said. Tony Barnette pitched a scoreless ninth, after giving up a leadoff walk, to wrap up only the third shutout this season for Texas.
Gomez, in his debut with the Rangers after being jettisoned by the Astros, made it 3-0 in the second with a laser to left. He will make another rehab start Monday and hopes to return to the Rangers rotation September 3.
ANGELS 6, BLUE JAYS 3: In Toronto, Albert Pujols reached the 100-RBI mark for the 13th time, the fifth player in history to achieve the feat, and Mike Trout had three hits and drove in four runs for the Angels. To make room for Gomez, the Rangers designated OF Drew Stubbs for assignment.
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Indians: Instead of activating reliever Tommy Hunter from the DL next week as planned, the Indians released the right-hander who has been out since the All-Star break with a back issue. Still, the former Cy Young Award victor is 5-0 with a 1.78 ERA and 57 strikeouts over his last eight outings. The 25-year-old Venezuelan has been a completely different pitcher at home, going 7-1 with a 2.36 ERA while sporting a nine-outing unbeaten streak.
