ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -Texas Rangers first baseman Mark Teixeira was activated from the disabled list on Friday after being sidelined since June 9 because of a strained left quadriceps muscle.
Teixeira is hitting .302 with 12 homers and 41 RBIs in 61 games entering the Rangers’ three-game series against the Angels.
“He’ll give us more presence in the lineup,” manager Ron Washington said. “We all know he’s got Gold Glove defense, and he’s a gamer, so that’s the kind of people you want to have around.
“You always worry about a player who’s been out of the lineup for a while and hasn’t faced live pitching. But he has a lot of knowledge of what he has to do and what he can do. So we just have to trust that, and we will trust that.”
The injury, which occurred while Teixeira was running out a grounder, ended his franchise-record streak of 507 consecutive games played. At the time, it was the second-longest among active players behind Baltimore shortstop Miguel Tejada, whose streak ended at 1,152 games on June 22 – two days after a pitch from San Diego’s Doug Brocail broke his left wrist.
“I’m looking forward to having a good last 2 1/2 months and seeing what this team can do and what we can build upon,” Teixeira said. “I think our pitching has definitely come around. And if we can pitch, we have a chance to play with anybody in baseball.”
To make room on the roster for Teixeira, the Rangers optioned outfielder Victor Diaz to Triple-A Oklahoma. Diaz batted .240 in 37 games with 25 RBIs and nine home runs, including a pair of grand slams.
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