STEPHEN HAWKINS
AP Sports Writer
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Add another rookie and another catcher to the ever-expanding record list of pitchers used by the Texas Rangers this season.
Miles Mikolas allowed 10 runs pitching into the seventh before late-arriving Alex Claudio made his major league debut and catcher J.P. Arencibia threw a scoreless ninth in the Rangers’ 10-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday night.
“You take it on, you know that for the most part, this isn’t something that’s normal, so you deal with it,” manager Ron Washington said. “It’s been a necessity for us to make the moves we had to make in that pitching staff, and we’ll continue to do that until there is no more baseball to be played.”
Chris Archer had a career-high 12 strikeouts in seven innings and Matt Joyce hit the first of Tampa Bay’s three early home runs off Mikolas (1-5), whose season ERA rose from 6.57 to 7.71 — and his curling mustache was gone after the game.
Claudio, who didn’t arrive until about an hour after the game began, retired all three batters faced in becoming the club-record 56th different player and 17th rookie used by the Rangers this season.
He was also the record 34th pitcher, and that became 35 in the ninth when Arencibia pitched in the majors for the first time. Arencibia was the third position player, and second catcher, to get on the mound for Texas this season.
The Rangers brought up Claudio from Triple-A Round Rock after putting ace Yu Darvish (right elbow inflammation) on the 15-day disabled list earlier Wednesday. Darvish was scheduled to start Thursday, but Robbie Ross will be recalled from Round Rock to start instead.
Archer (8-6) had his only two walks in the first three batters he faced. But the hard-throwing right-hander got out of the first when Alex Rios went down swinging, the first of six consecutive Rangers he struck out. Archer has three career 10-strikeout games, two against Texas.
“He was powering the ball, he was effectively wild,” Washington said.
James Loney drove in two runs with his three singles for Tampa Bay, which extended its AL record by allowing three runs or less in 17 consecutive road games. Only the 1908 Chicago Cubs had a longer stretch — 21 in a row.
Texas got its only run when Leonys Martin had a leadoff double in the fifth and came home on Jim Adduci’s sacrifice fly.
After Joyce homered in the first, Sean Rodriguez and Brandon Guyer hit two-run shots in the second
“Just couldn’t command the baseball, couldn’t put it where he wanted to,” Washington said of Mikolas. “Left too many fastballs out over the plate.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Rays: CF Desmond Jennings didn’t play because of a sore shoulder, a night after slamming hard into the wall while making an incredible running catch. Jennings could be back in the lineup Thursday.
Rangers: INF Jurickson Profar, out all season because of a torn muscle in his shoulder, took some grounders without making any throws.
UP NEXT
Rookie RHP Jake Odorizzi (8-9) pitches for the Rays, who wrap up a 10-game road trip. Tampa is 5-4 on this trip, and 20-6 away from home since June 15. LHP Robbie Ross (2-4) is set to be recalled from Triple-A Round Rock to start in Darvish’s spot. Texas has lost 20 of its last 27 home games.
CATCH, NOT THROW
When Loney grounded a ball just inside the third-base line in the sixth inning, Rangers 3B Adrian Beltre — who was shifted toward shortstop against the left-handed hitter — took his glove off his hand and mockingly acted like he was going to throw it at the ball. Beltre, a four-time Gold Glove winner, started the game with the first of his two nifty barehanded pickups and later turned a 5-3 double play in the seventh.
MUCH LESS TIME
A night after a 14-inning game that took 4 hours, 49 minutes to play, the third game of the four-game set was played in 2 hours, 51 minutes.
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