Rookie reliever Mendez impressing Rangers

ARLINGTON -- Rookie reliever Roman Mendez pitched another scoreless inning for the Rangers on Sunday night. That gave him a streak of eight consecutive scoreless outings to start his Major League career, matching Alexi Ogando for the longest in Rangers history.

"The most important thing is I have confidence in all my pitches," Mendez said. "It's a little bit surprising, because I was a little inconsistent in the Minor Leagues."

Mendez, going into Monday's game, had pitched 11 scoreless innings, allowing three hits and five walks while striking out six. Opponents were 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position.

"He's using all his pitches, he's throwing inside to right-handers, so far he has a nice back-door slider to left-handers," manager Ron Washington said. "He comes in, throws strikes and gets outs."

The Rangers acquired Mendez from the Red Sox on July 31, 2010. He was one of three players acquired in exchange for catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia. His progress has been slowed down the past two years by elbow issues, but now he is starting to show the Rangers how good he might be.

"It means a lot. ... To be here is important," Mendez said. "But to be successful is more important."