powering the rangers

Texas is on fire, and Mitch Moreland is providing a lot of the fuel. The former Mississippi State standout from Amory has a 10-game hitting streak going during which he has batted .341 with four home runs and nine RBIs. The Rangers have won seven straight — eight of the last 10 — to reach 23-23 on the year. Since Moreland returned from the disabled list following minor surgery on his left elbow, the Rangers are 9-4. They were 7-7 while their lefty-hitting first baseman was out. Moreland hit a go-ahead homer in the eighth inning on Tuesday night as the Rangers beat Cleveland 4-3. It was his fifth of the year – the Rangers are 5-0 when he homers — and 70th of his career. He is batting .306 with 18 RBIs. … Pascagoula’s Joey Butler is actually hotter than Moreland, hitting .423 over his last 10 games for Tampa Bay. Butler was 3-for-4 with two runs in a 7-6 loss to Seattle on Tuesday; the Rays have dropped four straight. In 57 at-bats, Butler is hitting .333 with two homers and seven RBIs. He had only 17 MLB at-bats before this season, his eighth in pro ball. He was drafted out of UNO in 2008 by Texas. … Ole Miss product David Goforth got two outs on three pitches in his big league debut for Milwaukee on Tuesday. … Ex-State star Jacob Lindgren, who debuted with two scoreless innings on Monday, became only the second New York Yankees draft pick to make the majors in less than a year. The other was Deion Sanders.