(Image via flickr.com user mikelachance.)

Athletics 9, Rangers 3

Martin Perez got the call tonight and preceded not to get out of the first. It had to be one of the worst innings of the season as Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz didn’t help by misplaying two balls in the outfield and the Athletics put up five runs and never looked back. It was such a parade of  ”relief” help out of the pen, I thought Ron Washington was going to summon Nolan Ryan into the game. They used six pitchers altogether and but the staff did issue only three walks. They also had eleven strikeouts.

The offense was just as bad. The Athletics started rookie phenom, Jarrod Parker, who wasn’t sharp, but didn’t need to be. The Rangers did cut the lead to 5-3 after two innings, on 2 RBI by Andrus and one by Moreland. But that was as close as they would get. The team was 0-7 with RISP and left eight men on base.

On Deck

Despite throwing eight innings of one-run ball against the Mariners on Saturday, Harrison took the hard-luck loss. The defeat snapped the left-hander’s 10-game winning streak against Seattle.

The southpaw has worked to a 3-1 record and a 4.47 ERA since the All-Star break, and for the season, he’s 4-3 with a 4.11 mark in 13 games as a starter.

(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.

Let’s start with this: Today is the 11th anniversary of 9/11. Let us never forget. A moment…

Now on to baseball…

When I was little I loved the Indians for some reason. They were my second team behind the Rangers. Why? I have no idea. I think as I got older though, my hardcore passion for the Rangers grew and the Indians got left in the dust.

Here we are in present day as the Rangers came back from an off day to take on the Cleveland Indians at home. Harrison vs. Jimenez. This should be interesting. I talked about it the last time the Indians played the Rangers. Does anyone remember when Jimenez rocked?

Yeah, about that. Now I just kind of want to laugh at him. Don’t get me wrong. I love the fact the boys came in and beat him up (with the exception of Hamilton), but seriously….how does someone go that downhill after being traded? I just don’t get it.

Jimenez lasted 5 innings but gave up 5 runs (only 2 of them being earned runs) , 4 hits and 4 walks. Harrison on the other hand looked pretty good out of the gate. He went 5 and 2/3 only giving up 2 on 5 hits and 3 walks.

The Rangers bats looked pretty good tonight too. Beltre knocked in his 31st ding dong… Kinsler, Moreland and Martin had doubles and Murphy, Martin and Soto had stolen bases. Yes, I know the stolen bases don’t have anything to do with the bats, but the fact that Soto stole a base got me excited. Sorry for partying people!

The Rangers got in a little bit of trouble in the 8th when Mike Adams came in…It was interesting. The Tribe put two more on the board making the score 6-4 Rangers.  Not to worry though. Joe Nathan came in in the 9th and shut it down.

I’m glad the Rangers pulled this one out. The A’s are seriously getting too close for comfort. I know it’s a pennant race, but let’s put some distance between us and them, ok guys?

FINAL: Rangers 6 , Indians 4

END OF GAME NOTES:

• Cruz was not in the starting lineup today. Could it be he’s not boomsticking enough?
• Where is Jurickson Profar? That kid is fun to watch. Let’s put him in more Wash. He’s proven he can play some ball. Plus, any 19 year old that says he ‘acted’ scared to get the same pitch is a hero in my book.
• I still love David Murphy.
• Mike Adams had an interesting 8th inning. I’m not really sure what he was doing. Still thinking about Joe Nathan in a Cowboys uniform? Don’t know what I’m talking about? Look it up…it’s kind of funny.

Did anyone else start today thinking they needed a vacation to recover from the holiday? I sure did. I love holidays, don’t get me wrong…but the day after holidays is always BRUTAL. The work day seems twice as long, the motivation is lacking, and the Rangers made me wait until tonight to watch them play when I was so used to the day games from this weekend.

Apparently the Rangers had the same jet lag feeling I did today. Second game at Kauffman Stadium against the Royals with Harrison on the mound trying to finally get his 16th win….Wouldn’t happen. They looked awful. Well, it started off just fine, but after Elvis’ homerun in the first and and RBI from Moreland in the second the Rangers went on a downhill slide.

In the third inning Kinsler got picked off third…

Mini Rant: Ian, let me start by saying I love you…you are my favorite player and have been since you started in the bigs. BUT I am getting really tired of trying to defend you to people. Please stop making stupid mistakes and go back to the basics of baseball. No more pops up or pickoffs please. Trust me you’ll thank me for the sound advice. It might save you from some Texas lynch mobs.

After the pickoff Kins decided he would start off the bottom of the third with an error putting Cain on first. A double later and the Royals were on the board. The Royals scored again on a soft sac fly to center, which Hamilton made a great throw on (Soto just couldn’t get the tag down in time)…lame.

Harrison didn’t look bad until the 5th inning. He couldn’t keep the ball down, it looked like he had no control and he paid for it. A two run bomb by Alex Gordon and a double later and Matt Harrison would take a seat on the bench. Poor guy is having a really hard time getting that 16th win.

The Royals got another homerun off Roy Oswalt in the 6th. Does anyone remember the ‘pitcher has a big butt chant’? I’m pretty sure they were talking about Oswalt (yes, I know he’s on my team…I just can’t help singing that chant everytime he comes out).

The Rangers threatened in the top of the ninth when they put runners on the corners with no outs. Young got a sac fly and the Rangers got a run out of it but unfortunately the Rangers couldn’t pull out of the holiday hangover to get the W tonight. Tomorrow we really need to get the win…I really don’t like how close the A’s are getting. Let’s do this boys!

FINAL: Rangers 3, Royals 6

Happy Labor Day everybody! I love today. Celebrating working by not going to work. Awesome. I hope everyone had a great weekend at BBQs, pools, parties, games, etc!!!

The Rangers came to play today when Yu Darvish took the mound against Chen and the Kansas City Royals. Darvish looked awesome today. He pitched 7 innings, gave up 3 hits and 3 runs and struckout 6, but the coolest part was he had a perfecto game going into the 6th inning. He got the first 17 he faced out and was only broken up by a two out walk and a bloop single in the 6th.

Darvish was on today. He looked like he was more relaxed, throwing pitches he knew he was comfortable with, and cut down on his walks. It’s amazing what happens when you don’t give up 6 walks a game.

The Rangers had Darvish’s back and put up 8 runs with 5 bombs by Beltre, Cruz, Hamilton, Young and Soto. Home run happy team!!! That makes me happy.

In the top of the 9th inning it almost got a little dramatic when Royals pitcher, Louis Coleman, plunked Nelson Cruz in the back. He was obviously trying to send some kind of message, I’m just ot sure what that message was supposed to be.

Anyways, Nelly looked like he was ready to charge the mound when both benches were cleared and warned. The drama fizzled out when Michael Young hammered one to left center. That shut everyone up. It was great. The Royals couldn’t catch up to Joe Nathan however and the game would end with the Rangers on top by 4.

Have a great rest of the long weekend everyone!!!

FINAL: Rangers 8, Royals 4

END OF GAME NOTES

• I kind of missed Profar being in the lineup today. Kinsler went 0-5 and was less than impressive. Don’t get me wrong I love me some Kinsler, but with Profar at second that is one killer infield.
• Beltre is still eating his super Wheaties.
• Hamilton is either on fire or cold as ice. He’s either bombing home runs or striking out. There is no in between and it’s starting to get on my nerves. Let’s get some consistency in here people!
• David Murphy is still my hero. Dude is a stud.
• Matt Harrison hits the mound tomorrow to go for his 16th win.

Jurickson Profar…WOW! That’s really all that needs to be said. Welcome to the bigs Mr. Profar.

To say that Profar led the Rangers today could be a misunderstanding, but I’ll say this, he led the Rangers by inspiring them. That’s my opinion. He finished 2 -4 with a home run, double, RBI, and a run scored.

As far as the other players, Profar inspired Derek Holland to pitch 7 inning while striking out 6. He inspired Josh Hamilton, Adrian Beltre, and David Murphy to all hit home runs.

He also inspired the defense to make some spectacular plays…please see Elvis Andrus, Nelson Cruz, and Beltre on sportscenter.

And finally, Jurickson Profar inspired the Rangers to victory by a score of 8 – 3. I want to personally thank Ron Washington for playing the youngster.

The Rangers visit the Kansas City Royals tomorrow. Game time starts at 1:10 pm. Yu Darvish tows the rubber for God’s team.

I’ve decided that I have to go to every game for the rest of the season. I have been to three games in the last week and we win all of them. I didn’t go tonight, but I was there in spirit because of my sprained ankle I received at the last Rangers game.

Go me. But my spirit was apparently enough tonight. Holland took the mound tonight against the dreaded David Price (who’s having a great season). The Rangers weren’t scared though.

Holland gave up 2 in the top of the first after Elvis booted one (well maybe two, but we won’t count the first one)…but no worries people. The Rangers came back….and I mean back…on back to back Beltre and Cruz bombs. BOOM.

Back and forth, back and forth. The Rays were out to prove they had something against the Rangers. Not tonight my friends. The Rangers pulled it out 6-5 with Holland getting the win and Nathan, the save.

Sorry for the short post…It’s late….And the hydrocodone is starting to kick in. Peace, love and Rangers Baseball!

FINAL: Rangers 6, Rays 5

END OF GAME NOTES

• Whatever Beltre is eating, he needs to keep eating it…Spinach, beer, tacos, Freedom Fries, whatever….let’s keep the hitting alive.
• Nelly has still not convinced me in right field. He makes some major mistakes but finds a way to recover. It’s kinda freaking me out.
• Holland freaks out every once in awhile, but he looked pretty solid tonight. Just needs to find his rhythm  again and we’ll be solid.
• What the heck happened to Feldman? Bueller? Bueller?
• I love the fact Holland wore the stirrups again tonight. It’s way better than the Dutch Stache…just saying.

See how easy that is boys? Wow. Everything fell into place tonight. The Rangers finally came back home after their horrid road trip to take on the Baltimore Orioles (or as I like to call them the Fighting Showalters).

Yep, the Fighting Showalters. Remember when the Orioles sucked worse than the Mariners? It wasn’t that long ago. Buck Showalter has turned them around, however. They still aren’t the best in the league, but they are definitely a force to be reckoned with.

BUT…fresh off their 11-2 win against the Blue Jays the Rangers were hot, and came home with the bats still blazing. Thank God too, because I was getting really tired of writing about losing games. Ryan Dempster took the mound tonight for his fourth start in a Rangers uniform.

Dempster looked fantastic tonight. By far the best game he’s thrown in a Rangers uniform. He gave up a run in the top of the first due to some really weird plays by Nelson Cruz but the offense showed up and gave him some help tonight.

The Rangers were all over the place tonight…but in a really good way. Runners on? Base hit. Runners on for the Orioles? Fantastic plays by the defense. It’s amazing what happens when you play small ball.

The Rangers got 3 in the bottom of the 5th led by Murphy (damn that kid is on fire) and Soto on a couple of singles knocking runs across the plate. They got another one in the 5th on a Cruz double (I guess that will make up for his awful defensive effort at the beginning of the game).

In the bottom of the 8th Michael Young led off with a double up the left center alley. Murphy singled, scoring Young (I’m so excited these two guys are hot right now…they are fun to watch).

The Rangers looked solid. They looked like they were playing like a team. They looked like they were actually having fun tonight. It’s been awhile since we’ve sen that. It’s good to have you back boys.

FINAL: Rangers 5, Orioles 1

(Image via Keith Allison)

FINAL: Rangers 10, Yankees 6

The starter and the game 

This game was normal and Derek Holland was fantastic until the bottom of the sixth inning. Staked to a 4-0 lead, Holland gave up 5 runs, 4 earned, on 4 hits and a game tying home run to Andruw Jones. Washington’s mad[dening] genius lineup included Mike Olt making only his fourth start in the outfield and for the first time in the majors.

The ‘pen

Tanner Scheppers relieved Holland, pitching 2/3 of an inning, giving up 2 hits and and a run. Micheal Kirkman pitched an inning, walking one and striking out one. Mike Adams pitched the eighth, walking one and striking out two. Joe Nathan pitched the ninth only allowing a hit.

The bats

Everyone had a hit except Moreland, who drew two intentional walks. The team had 16 hits overall and 6 walks. David Murphy led the way with 3 hits and Andrus, Young, Hamilton, Beltre and Soto all had two each. Beltre and Gentry had three RBI each.

End of the bench notes

- Elvis had two hits today, making it four years in a row where he’s had two hits on the death date of Elvis Presley

- Pitcher wins don’t matter, but Tanner Scheppers got his first

On deck

RH Yu Darvish [12-8, 4.54 ERA, 99 ERA+, 1.46 WHIP] v Blue Jays LH J.A. Happ [8-10, 5.04 ERA, 81 ERA+, 1.44 WHIP]

I’m not going to lie…With the way the Rangers have been playing lately I was extremely worried about the series with the Yanks. So what did I do? I went and ate some bomb Italian food with the family tonight instead of watching the whole game.

Man I’m glad I did too. I apparently didn’t miss much. Harrison took the mound tonight against Kuroda to try and even out the series for the Rangers. Harrison didn’t pitch bad tonight either. He actually had a great outing.

He gave up 5 hits but the killer came in the bottom of the 7th when he gave up a single to Jeter and then Swisher homered after. Texiera tacked on another homer in the 7th to give us the only runs all game.

The Rangers put up 2 hits ALL game. Yep. That’s what I said too. TWO HITS?!?! Either Kuroda pitched a hell of a game or we just have lost the hitting feature in our lineup. I don’t want to take credit away from Kuroda, but seriously? Two hits?

We have to do better than that boys. I mean really. I feel like I have whiplash….and I don’t like it. All in all, we had two of the best offensive teams in baseball going at it, and neither one got a run across the plate until the 7th. So I guess that doesn’t make me feel too bad.

All in all though, the Rangers lost tonight, hopefully will come back with some venegence tomorrow and my Italian food was delicious.

FINAL: Rangers 0, Yankees 3