Rangers Vs. Tigers: Alexi Ogando Strong Again As Texas Blanks Hosts

In his first start of the season, Alexi Ogando blanked the Seattle Mariners over six innings. In his second start of the season, he blanked a Major League lineup for seven.

In a Monday matinee, the hot Texas Rangers rolled into Detroit and knocked off the host Tigers by a 2-0 final. The Rangers move up to 9-1 on the year, while the Tigers fall to a miserable 3-7.

With Ogando and Justin Verlander on the mound, this was a pitcher's duel for much of the game, and nobody got on the board until the seventh. Verlander actually wound up going the distance, needing 119 pitches to throw nine innings of two-run, four-strikeout ball.

But it wasn't enough, as Ogando was brilliant, and the Rangers' two runs in the seventh were all the support their arms would need. Michael Young and Mitch Moreland each drilled RBI doubles, and Ogando and a pair of relievers handled the rest.

Ogando went seven frames before being removed with a blister. He threw 79 pitches, allowing two hits while whiffing four. Darren Oliver handled the bottom of the eighth, and then Neftali Feliz took over in the ninth, locking down his fourth save of the season. He did allow a double and then intentionally walked Miguel Cabrera to put the tying run on base, but Victor Martinez grounded out to end the game.

The teams will go back at it again on Tuesday, with C.J. Wilson opposing Brad Penny. One already gets the sense that the Rangers may end up winning their division by about 70 games.