I visited the Temple today for a nooner and definitely left without being satisfied. Joe Nathan came into the game with a lead and blew it and I went home all pissed off. That was game 1 against the Angels, but that’s not what this recap is about. See Dave England for that.

In game 2, Joe Nathan got a red0 and I was finally satisfied. With a 1 run lead heading into the 9th, Nathan took the ball and shoved it up Anaheim’s anus. I couldn’t really use Angels in that sentence…that would have been awkward. Mike Napoli thanked the Angels front office once again for the trade and slammed 2 shots into the bleachers as the Rangers finished off the Angels by a score of 8 to 7.

Derek Holland started the night cap off with a helluva 1st inning. Helluva = 4 runs given up in the 1st. But the Rangers would battle back through 5 innings and take a 8 -4 lead heading into the 7th inning. During the Rangers offensive outburst, Angel slayer Mike Napoli would lead the way after David Murphy and Josh Hamilton primed everything up for him.

Josh doubled to start the scoring off and Murphy homered to continue it, and then Nap Nap Big Weiner started the slaying…solo HR to left in the 2nd, 3 run dinger in the 3rd, and finally, a 2 run double to center. All of that offense would be enough, but not without drama.

With Angel runners on base and Howie Kendrix at the plate in the 7th, Holland sent a meat pie over the plate and Kendrix sent it out for a 3-run bomb to cut the lead to 1. That would finish Holland’s night. Heading into the 9th still up by 1, Joe Nathan put his big boy pants on and sent the Angels to the showers with their wings tucked between their legs.

Ball game. Rangers 8, Angels 7. And with that victory, the Rangers are headed to the playoffs.

T’s Game Notes / Observations:

• Derek Holland finished the game with 6.2 innings pitched, 5 strike outs, and the win…his 12th of the year.
• Great work by Koji Uehara tonight…that’s big time.
• Adrian Beltre left the game in the top of the 7th after reaching for a liner to his left and was replaced by Mike Olt.
• The Rangers head to Oakland with a 2 game lead.
• The Baltimore Orioles are celebrating.
• The New York Yankees are celebrating.

Angels 7, Rangers 4

Barely a couple of sips into my Farmhouse wit by local brewery Deep Ellum, the omen was set with the very first batter of the game as Mike Trout lead off with a home run. Once the Angels settled in with a 4-1 lead after four innings, it was time watch and rekindle my childhood love with the provocative detective Angela Lansbury and Murder she wrote [now streaming on Netflix.] The Angels have knocked Dempster around since being traded over from the N.L. He’s 0-2 with an 11.20 ERA against them. All other A.L. Teams 7-1, 2.92 ERA.

With the learning today Mike Adams is out indefinitely with a neck strain, it’s even more important that Uehara has been very good this month.

In the month of September. In 11 appearances, Uehara has 8.1 IP, one hit allowed, no walks, no runs, and 14 strikeouts. Uehara has faced 20 straight batters without allowing a baserunner, and has struck out 12 of them.

This recent uptick in performance by Uehara comes at a crucial time with October around the corner. The bullpen usage usually increases in the playoffs, and particularly in the last two years the bullpen plays a large role in the success of a postseason team. Were it not for the work of Uehara and Nathan, the Rangers bullpen would be in a minor state of turmoil. Alexi Ogando has had his struggles in a few September appearances, and beyond that it is a little hit or miss what kind of production is going to be seen from the rest of the bullpen.

» Continue reading “Rangers Lose, Trout Fished In America, I Watched Murder She Wrote”

Wow…I can tell you right now. I will be a wreck for at least the next month. Post season is an extremely emotional time for me and we’re not even there yet!  It’s time to break out the lucky sweatshirt…That was one hell of a game.

What I can say is that it’s definitely going to be an interesting week with the A’s and Angels in town. We’ve got a Pennant Race people! I’m not sure what Billy Beane put in the  A’s Cheerios after the All Star Break but they will not lose. They have pitched well, hit well, beat some of the best teams in the game repeatedly and it doesn’t look they are going to slow down anytime soon.

Hence the reason I was extremely worried going into this series. The Rangers were 4 games up at the beginning of the game tonight and that is not nearly enough distance for me to be comfortable. Holland took the mound for the Rangers against the young pitcher Straily.

Holland didn’t have great stuff tonight. He had trouble commanding his fastball and struggled to get ahead of batters. He worked from behind in the count for much of his outing, which is never a good thing. He lasted three innings, giving up 3 runs, 4 hits and 2 walks.

In the top of the 2nd, Holland hung one out over the plate and Donaldson made him pay when he jacked one out giving the A’s a 2-0 lead.

Mini Rant: As much as I love our announcers, it always seems like they speak at the worst times…”Derek Holland hasn’t given up a homerun to the A’s in the last 8…..CRUSH…Homerun A’s”. Tom Grieve, I love you, but I am also extremely superstitious…STOP IT.  

In the bottom of the 2nd the Rangers got a run on a bloop single by Moreland that scored Young…Whoo on the board. BUT, the A’s weren’t done… Cesepedes added another jack to the A’s board in the 3rd…Hamilton homered in the 5th…A’s scored in the 6th..Back and forth.

I was started to get really worried going into the 7th when the Rangers had 2 outs and Josh Hamilton at the plate. Why was I worried with Hamilton at the plate? I told you the end of the season is very emotional for me! The Rangers came through for me (they decided they didn’t want to give me a heart attack at the ripe old age of 29)…Hamilton walked and Beltre crushed one to center to tie up the game. (Atta boy Beltre! It’s about time someone stepped up!)

Nathan took care of the top of the 9th with a little help from Napoli…a strikeout/thrown out stealing double play was kind of awesome. In the bottom of the 9th Mitch led off with a single up the middle followed by a single by Kinsler and a sac bunt from Elvis. After an intentional walk to Hamilton Beltre came up to try and get the win…Boom single up the middle.

Adrian Beltre is my hero. Suck it A’s!

FINAL: Rangers 5, Athletics 4

END OF GAME NOTES:

• I still sing the ‘Pitcher Has a Big Butt’ Song when Oswalt pitches. It just makes me laugh.
• Koji looked good tonight. I wasn’t ready for that.
• Apparently everyone at the game tonight got tacos because Hamilton hit a home run. I like tacos. Someone bring me some.
• Seriously Beltre is my hero. The End.

(Image via Keith Allison.)

Rangers 3, Angels 1

Darvish continued his streak of great games, going eight innings, allowing only four hits, giving up one run, walking only one and striking out nine. Darvish now looks like the ace the Rangers thought they were getting from Japan this offseason. Darvish killed the Angels with his cutter. Of his 108 pitches, half were cutters (season high 54). 39 of them (72%) were strikes. 10 whiffs.
Also as a frame of reference, that gives Darvish a 13.5 SO/9 rate in innings 7-9. Verlander has a 12.1 SO/9 rate in innings 7-9 this year.

Joe Nathan pitched an uneventful ninth inning giving up only a two out hit.

The Rangers took a 1-0 lead on Soto’s sac fly in the fifth. The Angels tied it in the bottom of the sixth on a Torii Hunter single. Then in the ninth, Young lead off with a single off Frieri and the next batter Beltre hit an off speed pitch into the left field stands for his 34th home run to decide the game.

Another series win for the Rangers, who have lost only two since the All-Atar break.

On Deck Seattle Mariners

LH Martin Perez [1-1, 3.38 ERA] v. RH Hisashi Iwakuma [6-5, 3.39 ERA]

Matt Harrison, that was lovely and I love you. Oh…and Happy freaking birthday!

After a mid-afternoon rain delay, the Rangers did what they needed to do (again) and Matty Harrison was dominant as they defeated the Mariners 2 to 1.

Harrison pitched into the 9th and earned his 17th victory on the year. He finished with 5 strike outs and 1 earned run on 6 hits. He also induced 3 double plays.

Koji Uehara snuck in to finish off Jesus and also picked up his 1st save on the year.

The Rangers offense was carried by Adrian Beltre and Mitch Moreland. Beltre hit a “no question” into the left field stands off former Rangers pitcher Blake Bleavan in the 4th to start the scoring off.

And with David Murphy sitting on the pond in the 5th, Moreland lined a triple down the first base line to score Murph and put the Rangers up by 2. It would be all the scoring the Rangers would need.

Rangers 2, Mariners 1

After their victory tonight and the A’s loss, the Rangers extend their lead in the west to 3 games. The mighty Rangers are off tomorrow, but head to LA to face the Los Angeles Anaheim Western United States North American Angels on Tuesday.

The Rangers did what they needed to do by beating the mighty Mariners 9 to 3. Yu Darvish pitched 7 super strong innings while striking out 9 batters and he looked dynamite in a hello kitty sexual way the entire evening.

Ian Kinsler started the offense engine off with a lead off dinger – his 6th lead off shot of the year. And not to be outdone by Kins, Josh Hamilton decided to hit a monster shot in the 3rd inning, and he landed it somewhere in Oklahoma.

The offense engine hit full throttle in the 8th and decided to score an additional 7 runs, which basically tucked the Mariners in bed and wished them a good night.

Koji Uehara followed Darvish and had another strong outing striking out 2. Michael Kirkman thought it would be funny to tease the Mariners one last time in the 9th by giving up 2 earned runs, but he would quit fooling around and finished them off for good.

Go Rangers!

T’s Game Notes and Observations

• Darvish reached the 200K mark on the year during the game. He has 205 now.
• It was good to see Adrian Beltre and Hamilton playing tonight.
• I think I set a new personal record by changing 7 dirty diapers during the game.
• I had no idea that Ron Washington was the player who followed Cal Ripken, Jr at shortstop when Cal finally decided to take a seat on the bench. I hope I heard that correctly on the broadcast.

(Image via Keith Allison.)

For the first time in franchise history, the Texas Rangers have hit the 3 million in attendance mark.  I guess back-to-back World Series appearances and the unusually mild Texas summer help things, huh?  It’s too bad the Rangers couldn’t get a win.   

We didn’t get the Derek Holland we had last game, but this one was OK too.  I’ll take a 7 inning, 7 strike outs, 2 run outing.  And sadly, like his last outing, Holland didn’t get a win. 

The offense tonight was fueled by Beltre/Cruz/Young who were responsible for the 2 runs scored in the 4th and for the 2 runs that put the Rangers on top in the 8th, but 4 runs just weren’t enough. 

Joe Nathan was brought in to finish things off in the 9th, his 3rd straight appearance in as many games.  A home run to the first batter he faced didn’t start things off well.  A single followed by ANOTHER home run and the Rangers were down 5-4.  Elvis Andrus did his best to muster up a rally by tripling with 2 outs in the bottom 9th, but David Murphy failed to get him home.  This was Nathan’s first blown save since April 11th…hard to be too upset about that.

FINAL: Rangers 4, Indians 5

Injury Updates: Josh Hamilton, who received a shot in his knee earlier today, was held out of the lineup as a precaution.  Adrian Beltre, who injured his shoulder in last night’s game, was restricted to DH duties.  The Rangers aren’t acting like either injuries are overly serious, but you never know.  Mike Olt, who left the game last night, has been diagnosed with plantar fasciitis and will probably be out 10-14 days.

(Image via Keith Allison.)

It’s nice to see the Rangers taking advantage of a series against a losing team, especially this late in the season. 

Ryan Dempster, with help by bombs by both Adrian Beltre and Josh Hamilton, pitched a solid game, going 7 innings, giving up only 2 runs.  Dempster struggled through the 3rd, 4th and 5th, but cruised through his final 2 innings of work.

Now, for the bad news. Adrian Beltre left the game in the 5th due to a sore shoulder, injured on an incredible diving play in the 2nd. Not much was said as to the extent of the injury (Beltre is getting a “precautionary MRI”), but, as we all know, a Beltre injury at this stage of the season could be pretty detrimental for this team. Let’s hope they were just being overly cautious.

And to make matters worse, Josh Hamilton left the game after the 7th with soreness in his knee.  Fantastic…

Oh, but there’s more… Mike Olt, who came into the game for Adrian Beltre in the 5th, exited the game after pulling a leg muscle in the 7th.  So, we got to see Ian Kinsler play 3rd with Jurickson Profar coming in to play 2nd. Anyone else shocked Young wasn’t asked to play 3rd? Wash confuses me.

FINAL: Rangers 5, Indians 2

(Image via Keith Allison.)

On a night when both the A’s and Angels were off, the Rangers had an opportunity to gain a little more ground in the AL West.  With the game tied 4-4 headed into the top of the 10th, Ian Kinsler led off the inning with a (nail biting) triple.  Then who else but Michael Young (trollin’ trollin’) would come through with a game winning single to put the Rangers up 5-4?  Joe Nathan came in to finish things off in the bottom of the 1oth.

Scott Feldman, tonight’s starter, had yet another shockingly decent outing, allowing only 3 runs on 6 hits over 6 1/3 innings.  Unfortunately, despite a solid start, Feldman was not eligible for the win after Michael Kirkman gave up the Rangers 4-3 lead in the bottom of the 7th.

Offensively, the Rangers made quite a bit of noise in the 4th on home runs by Josh Hamilton and Adrian Beltre (I know, you’re shocked).  They tacked on a 4th run in the 7th on a double by Geovany Soto.  But that was it until the 10th.

Since it wouldn’t be a Laura recap without a little “let’s question a Ron Washington bonehead decision” rant… Top of the 9th, tie ball game, 2 outs, man on 1st.  Wash (WITH AN EXTENDED BENCH THAT INCLUDES ANDRUS AND PROFAR) lets Gentry bat against a RHP.  Sigh.  It’s like he’s decided to do the opposite of what is logical nowadays.  Of course Gentry struck out.  Probably doesn’t help that Gentry never plays either…

FINAL: Rangers 5, Royals 4

Michael, you’re just trollin’ us now… (Image via Keith Allison.)

In a game that I’m sure very few in the Dallas metroplex even paid attention to (thanks, Cowboys), the Rangers were able to pad their lead in the AL West, going up 5 games on the A’s.

The big story (again) was Adrian Beltre.  With a 3-run home run and a triple to go along with a couple of nifty plays at 3rd, Beltre continued on his recent tear.  Oh, and that’s 10 home runs in his last 14 games. No big deal.

The game overall wasn’t overly exciting.  The Rangers went up 3-0 in the 1st and just sort of held on for the remainder of the game, just keeping it close enough that you reconsidered changing the channels (you know, for those of us who probably weren’t going to watch the Cowboys in the first place).

Aside from Beltre, Young also hit a home run of his own, his 6th of the year.  We can argue all day why the hell he’s playing 2nd when you have a perfectly good middle infielder sitting the bench, but that would be a waste of time because we all know how Wash feels about rookies taking veterans spots…

Ryan Dempster, tonight’s starter, was pretty solid, keeping the Royals to only 2 runs on 4 hits over 6 innings.  The bullpen?  Sigh. Let’s just say they have to get their sh*t together before October.  Ogando allowed 2 runs in 1 inning.  Adams allowed 1 run in 1 inning.  Nathan allowed 1 run in 1 inning.  Guys, that won’t cut it.

FINAL: Rangers 7, Royals 6