Texas’ Sele Gets Shutout No. 2

A change of scenery has done a world of good for Aaron Sele.

The Texas right-hander kept up his surprising start, pitching a four-hitter and striking out 10 in his second shutout of the season Tuesday night as the Rangers defeated the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 4-0.

“So far it’s been a lot of fun getting adjusted,” said Sele, who was traded from Boston to Texas in November.

Sele (4-0) became the first Ranger starter to begin his Texas career with four consecutive victories, using a sharp-breaking curveball set up by an effective fastball to shut down a lineup that started the night with a team batting average of .314.

Sele had never pitched a shutout in 108 career starts before this year. But coming off a season in which he went 13-12 with a 5.38 earned-run average for the Red Sox, Sele matched Houston’s Mike Hampton for most victories in the majors.

Sele walked one, and also showed he could pitch without a big lead. Texas backed him with 42 runs in his first three starts, but did not break loose against knuckleballer Dennis Springer (1-2).

Lee Stevens hit a two-run homer as the Rangers won for the seventh time in eight games.

Springer gave up only two hits until the seventh, when Ivan Rodriguez singled and Stevens hit his sixth homer. Reliever Ramon Tatis’ bases-loaded walk to Greer made it 4-0 later in the inning.