The Rangers have lost 28-year old righty reliever Mark Lowe for the next 2-4 weeks due to a strained left hamstring. Lowe pitched in 52 games (0 starts) for the Rangers this year and he was 2-3 with 1 save, a 3.80 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. He has now pitched in 217 games (0 starts) in his first six years in the majors and he is 7-18 with 5 saves, a 4.03 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP. Lowe came to the Rangers last year as part of the Cliff Lee deal with the Mariners. He will miss at least the American League Division Series for the Rangers, but they should have it covered as they have a deep bullpen.

The Rangers have placed 28-year old righty reliever Darren O’Day on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to August 25th, due to right shoulder inflammation. O’Day has pitched in 13 games (0 starts) for the Rangers so far this year and he is 0-1 with a 5.93 ERA and a 1.54 WHIP. He has now pitched in 149 games (0 starts) in his first three years with the Rangers and he is 8-4 with 2 saves, a 2.40 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP. O’Day is a solid reliever, so the Rangers hope he will get back soon to help them win the A.L. West.

The Texas Rangers will be without 30-year old righty swinging RF Nelson Cruz for the next 3 weeks due to a strained hamstring. Cruz has played in 113 games for the Rangers so far this year and he is 117 for 433 (.270 avg, .853 OPS) with 60 runs scored, 28 homers, 84 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. 29-year old lefty swinging outfielder David Murphy will likely start in RF until Cruz is ready to return to action. Murphy has played in 93 games so far this year and he is 74 for 300 (.247 avg, .662 OPS) with 32 runs scored, 7 homers, 29 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. I think Murphy will do a solid job while Cruz is out of action, but the Rangers will miss Cruz’ power.

UPDATE: (8/31/2011) - The Rangers have placed Nelson Cruz on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to August 29th.

The Rangers have placed 27-year old righty swinging outfielder Craig Gentry on the 7-day disabled list due to a concussion. Gentry has played in 39 games for the Rangers so far this year and he is 22 for 83 (.265 avg, .673 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 0 homers, 7 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. The Rangers have called up 27-year old righty swinging catcher Taylor Teagarden to replace Gentry on the active roster. Teagarden has played in 9 games for the Rangers so far this year and he is 7 for 26 (.269 avg, .668 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 0 homers and 2 RBIs. The Rangers hope that Gentry gets back in action soon as they really value his speed and defense.

The Rangers have placed 32-year old righty swinging 3B Adrian Beltre on the 15-day disabled list due to a hamstring strain. Beltre has played in 100 games this year for the Rangers and he is 107 for 388 (.276 avg, .823 OPS) with 61 runs scored, 20 homers and 76 RBIs. The Rangers have called up 25-year old lefty swinging 1B/3B/OF Chris Davis to replace Beltre on the active roster. Davis played in 21 games earlier this year for the Rangers and he was 14 for 52 (.269 avg, .814 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 3 homers and 4 RBIs. Davis has also played in 48 games in AAA-ball for the Rangers this year and he is 71 for 193 (.368 avg, 1.229 OPS) with 39 runs scored, 24 homers, 66 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Michael Young will also get some playing time at 3B but Chris Davis will likely start somewhere for the Rangers all of this week as they want to showcase him before the trade deadline next Sunday.