Ageless Kenny Rogers moved past the halfway mark to destiny on Saturday night with a breezy six-hit shutout that gave him 30 consecutive scoreless innings. Leading the cheers for Rogers during Texas' 5-0 victory over Minnesota was Rangers' pitching coach Orel Hershiser, who has the Major League record with 59 consecutive scoreless innings in 1988.

Being halfway to Hershiser is no small feat.

At 40, Rogers is in a golden groove that has him threatening to break his own club record of 39 consecutive scoreless innings from May 6-June 1, 1995.

"We're definitely into it," shortstop Michael Young said of the Rogers' streak. "We want to make it go as long as it can. It's pretty incredible that at this stage of his career he's only getting better."

After wading through the Twins for eight innings, Rogers needed a great catch from left fielder Kevin Mench to preserve the shutout in the ninth. The Twins had a runner at second with two down when Lew Ford scorched a liner to left. Mench got a good jump on contact and made a diving catch to end the game and keep Rogers' scoreless streak intact.

"I was thinking about it [the streak]," Mench said. "It's amazing. He still has a long way to go to get Orel, but he's doing what he is asked to do. He came out here and pitched lights out."

Rogers, who is not doing interviews with the media at large, continues to let his pitching do the talking. He last surrendered a run on April 21 in a 3-2 loss at Tampa Bay. Since then, it has been zero after zero.

Rogers went six shutout innings against Seattle, eight shutout innings at Oakland and seven shutout innings against Cleveland before the complete game against the Twins. His earned run average is down to an American League-leading 1.49.

"He's on a roll right now that I've never seen before," Young said. "I've played behind Kenny since 2001 and I've seen him do some great things. But nothing like this."

Rogers needed only 104 pitches to blank a Minnesota team that came into the game fifth in the AL in hitting with a .272 clip. As sharp as Rogers was, the Texas bullpen could have stayed back at the team hotel.

"Kenny's fastball has been crisp for a long time now," Rangers manager Buck Showalter said. "I've seen Kenny not be crisp and still go out there and have a good outing."

Sharing center stage with Rogers was veteran catcher Sandy Alomar, Jr., whose two-out, two-run single off Carlos Silva in the fifth would prove to be all the offensive support Kenny would need.

Nobody enjoyed the Rogers show more than Hershiser, reigning king of the goose-eggs.

"He's not even breaking a sweat," Hershiser said. "I know he is mentally. But physically, the ball goes anywhere from 68 miles an hour to 91, 92. He understands what the hitters are trying to do and he understands himself. He had a great partner back there tonight in Sandy. It's fun to watch two veterans dissect and do their thing."

Rogers, who won 18 games and made the All-Star team last year, has taken his game to another level with seven quality starts in his first eight outings of 2005.

"He came to Spring Training on a mission," Hershiser said. "He wants to continue to pitch and I think he has proven the point that he definitely still can. His sinker has been back in certain outings and his changeup has been dominant in other ones. The curveball will visit him.

"He has never really had an outing where any one of them escaped him. But there have been outings where each one has been exceptional. He had an outstanding cutter tonight."

Besides the circus catch by Mench to end the game, Rogers was aided by outstanding infield defense. Second baseman Alfonso Soriano had eight assists and Young added five at shortstop, including a couple of outstanding plays.

"You're getting to watch a real late cross-section of experience and talent," Hershiser said. "Normally, this happens with guys 30 to 33, where the experience and talent are both at a peak. Kenny is stretching the boundaries of having talent and experience."