July 30, 2008

ARLINGTON, Texas - Two former UT Arlington baseball standouts had memorable evenings on Tuesday, as infielder Ryan Roberts joined the Texas Rangers' active roster and right-handed pitcher John Lackey picked up his ninth win of the season while coming within two outs of throwing a no-hitter against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.

Roberts, a graduate of L.D. Bell High School, made his debut with the Rangers in Arlington, just 14 miles from his hometown, Hurst, Texas. Roberts received the promotion after batting .284 with 21 doubles, five triples, eight home runs and 50 RBIs with triple-A affiliate Oklahoma City.

Roberts stuck out in the eighth inning, while pinch hitting for Milton Bradley during the Rangers' 11-10 victory over the Seattle Mariners. Roberts is currently one of only three right-handed batting infielders on the Rangers' depth chart, joining All-Stars Michael Young and Ian Kinsler.

Roberts was leading the Redhawks with 62 walks and was among team leaders with 11-of-13 stolen bases.

Just three days ago, Roberts had a career game going 2-for-5 with two home runs, three runs scored and seven RBIs against the Colorado Springs Sky Sox. His heroics all came in the same inning, as he blasted a three-run homer and a grand slam in the Redhawks' 11-run second inning.

He tied two Pacific Coast League records, becoming the fourth player (first since 2000), to record seven RBIs in one inning, and he is the 17th PCL player to homer twice in the same inning.

Before joining the Rangers, Roberts batted .563 with five extra-base hits in his last four games with the Redhawks.

Joining the Rangers at the start of their 10-game home stand, Roberts returns to the city where he made headlines as a 2003 All-American and Southland Conference Player of the Year with the Mavericks.

In addition, Roberts played in 17-career major league games in two stints with the Toronto Blue Jays during the past two seasons while batting .077 in 26 at-bats. Lackey, a first baseman, designated hitter and pitcher for the Mavs in 1998, took a no-hitter into the bottom of the ninth inning with one out, before Dustin Pedroia singled to end Lackey's no-hit bid. Lackey guided the American League West-leading Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim to a 6-2 victory throwing his second complete game of the season, while giving up two hits and striking out four.

Lackey is among team leaders with a 2.93 ERA in 14 appearances. He has posted a 9-2 record with 81 strikeouts in 101.1 innings pitched for the Angels, who currently own the best record in the major leagues (66-40).

NOTES:
Mark Lowe, a teammate of Roberts at UT Arlington, was not only in attendance during Roberts' call-up on Tuesday evening, he was in the opposing dugout with the Seattle Mariners. Lowe is in his third season with the Mariners where he ranks second on the team with 40 appearances this season. Lowe has struck out 42 batters in 46 innings pitched.

After finishing third in the A.L. Cy Young race a year ago, Lackey was two outs away from becoming the first pitcher to no-hit Boston at home in 50 years... The last time the Red Sox were no-hit at Fenway Park was on July 20, 1958, when the Detroit Tigers' Jim Bunning recorded the impressive feat exactly three years after making his major league debut.