Rangers lose in 10

[Bob Of Burleson]

Loss doesn't lessen Martinez's progress

Rookie goes seven-plus in duel with Weaver; Choo homers

By Earl Bloom / Special to MLB.com

ANAHEIM -- The Rangers had just endured a gut-wrenching, 3-2 loss to the Angels in 10 innings at Angel Stadium for their fourth loss in a row, but the mixed emotions in the visiting clubhouse did not involve Saturday night's result.

Manager Ron Washington was delighted by the work of his starter, right-hander Nick Martinez, who pitched five perfect innings, and took a one-hitter and a 1-1 tie into the eighth before C.J. Cron homered to give the Angels a lead that would was soon erased by Shin-Soo Choo's homer leading off the ninth.

"I thought he was great, really," Washington said of the ninth Major League start by Martinez, 23, who's made the jump from a handful of Double A games last season. "His last start, at Seattle, he was able to get his other pitches into play. Tonight, he was moving pitches around, spotting his breaking ball, spotting his changeup, and he was good.

"I told him he did an outstanding job. That's what he's going to have to learn to do, get deep into ballgames. He did that tonight."

As happy as he was with Martinez, though, Washington was just as displeased with plate umpire Vic Carapazza, who ejected Alex Rios in the fourth inning and Michael Choice in the 10th when they questioned strike calls.

"He's got a quick trigger," Washington said of Carapazza, who also ejected Rangers pitching coach Mike Maddux in a May 18 game against Seattle -- giving him half the Rangers' six ejections this season. "He needs to settle down a little bit. This is the big leagues. People are out there competing.

"He's got to have some patience. It's ridiculous. All Rios said was, 'Get it together.' He called that arguing balls and strikes."

Rios, who was tossed after grounding into a double play, said: "I didn't say anything to make him react the way he did. [The ejection is] just unacceptable to me. I said, 'Clean it up.'"

Choice, who was called out on strikes before he got tossed, also said he didn't think he said anything meriting an ejection.

"Neither of those pitches were strikes, the 3-1 and the 3-2. I said, 'That [3-2] pitch was down.' He said it was a strike. I said it was down, and then he tossed me."

MORE

[BigTex]

Once a player has been thrown out, it's foolish to make eye contact with an umpire for the rest of the game, let alone make remarks about balls and strikes.

[Cowman52]

The man has been playing ball for how long? The first thing your taught is you do not argue judgement calls, if you do the next pitch will be a strike if it lands in Texas much less cross the plate. he got in a p***ing contest and lost. Elvis ought to take notes and Wash ought not to put up with it