Rangers put up four runs in fourth to down Brewers

Rangers 9, Brewers 6

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -- Even as Sammy Sosa approaches a historic milestone, he wanted to talk more about the pitching performance of teammate Robinson Tejeda.

Sosa was 3-for-5 with an RBI double that capped a four-run fourth inning and the Rangers held off the Milwaukee Brewers 9-6 Friday night.

Tejeda pitched 6 2/3 innings despite battling a blister problem on his pitching hand.

Through six innings, Tejeda had only allowed one run. He is the first Texas starter to last past the sixth inning since May 27.

"It was just a matter of time," Sosa said about the starting pitching. "We had a good opportunity because Tejeda pitched six solid innings."

Sosa did not homer for the 14th straight game in his pursuit to become the fifth player ever to hit 600. But he did break out of a 7-of-49 slump since hitting his last homer -- his 598th -- on May 22.

Sosa's bloop RBI double just inside the right-field line gave Texas a 6-1 lead in the fourth. He also had an infield single in the first and a hard-hit single in the eighth.

Ian Kinsler homered to lead off the fourth, and Mark Teixeira drove in three runs for the Rangers -- who had dropped 12 of their last 15 coming into the game.

Teixeira left the game after the sixth inning with a sore left quadriceps injury. He landed awkwardly on the first base bag running out a grounder.

"He was trying to beat it out and on the last step he strained his quad," Texas manager Ron Washington said. "We'll evaluate him [Saturday] and see where he stands."

Prince Fielder hit his National League leading 22nd home run in the second. Fielder now has seven home runs over the last 11 games.

Tejeda (5-6) entered the seventh inning with a 7-1 lead. But Corey Hart and Ryan Braun each homered to spark a five-run seventh that got Milwaukee within 7-6.

Braun's shot knocked Tejeda out of the game. Reliever C.J. Wilson struck out Fielder to end the threat.

"These kids don't quit," Milwaukee manager Ned Yost said. "They were down 7-1 and they just kept pecking away."

Akinori Otsuka pitched a perfect eighth, and Eric Gagne pitched a perfect ninth to earn his sixth save in six opportunities.

Milwaukee starter Chris Capuano (5-5) lost his fifth straight start after starting out 5-0. He gave up six runs and eight hits while walking four in four innings.

Since starting 24-10, Milwaukee has lost 17 of its past 26 games.

"It was like Jekyll and Hyde tonight," said Capuano, who has a 5.94 ERA in his last five starts. "In the [third] inning I felt right on top of my stuff. In the next inning, I just didn't have good command."

Tejeda struck out seven and gave up six runs and eight hits in 6 2/3 innings. He had been 0-3 in his last three starts.

Despite Tejeda pitching well enough to earn the victory, the Rangers starting rotation's ERA increased to 7.00 for the season -- the worst mark in baseball.

Texas starting pitchers lasted just 9 1/3 innings over the past three games against Detroit.

"We needed somebody to go far in the game," Tejeda said. "That helps the other starters and also helps the bullpen."

After Fielder's homer in the second, the Rangers struck for the two in the bottom of the inning on Michael Young's bases-loaded walk and Teixeira's RBI single.

Kinsler led off the fourth with his 11th homer of the season -- a 380-foot shot that hit the left field foul pole that gave the Rangers a 3-1 lead.

With two outs in the frame, Teixeira lined a two-run double and Sosa followed with an RBI double.

Jerry Hairston had a sacrifice fly for Texas in the fifth to increase Texas' lead to 7-1.

But the Brewers cut the deficit to 7-6 on Bill Hall's RBI groundout and two-run homers from Hart and Braun. Both Hart and Braun have four home runs this season.

Victor Diaz had an RBI single and the Rangers scored twice in the eighth inning to make it 9-6.

Game notes
Texas CF Kenny Lofton left the game after seven innings with left knee irritation. His status is day-to-day. ... The last Texas pitcher to last at least six innings was Kameron Loe on May 27. ... Milwaukee has lost 11 of 14 games on the road. ... Diaz struck out four times. .. Young and Marlon Byrd had three hits each.