Tagged: home stand

Nippert gets it done

Rangers – 5

Blue Jays – 2

Nippert, Feliz, and Fransico all pitched a good game for the Rangers 5-2 victory this afternoon. Michael Young made his first error in a long time and snapped his 14 game hitting streak, but for everyone else it was a good game, especially for Chris Davis. The Rangers play another one in a few minuets, and Brandon McCarthy is making his first start in a long time. it will also be interesting to see which of the September callups they will use in the second game. I will have more to say about the callups later when I blog after the second game, so, Stay tuned.

Wild One

Rangers – 10

Blue Jays – 18

The Rangers came back from a 11-0 deficit to bring the game to within 11-10, and then gave up 8 more runs in the top of the 9th inning. They did show some desire last night when they started hitting, but once again the Bullpin just couldn’t stop the bleeding. Not all of them, O’Day had another great outing and so did Doug Mathis, but Grili and Strop combined to give up the 8 runs in the 9th. It was a tough one for the Rangers to lose, but they have a double header to think about today, so they cant focus on last night. They can still take 3 out of 4 from the Jays and have a successful homestand.

 

Up Next:

Tuesday, Sept. 1

Game 1:

    Dustin Nippert, RHP (4-2, 4.02) 

vs.

Marc Rzepczynski, LHP (2-3, 3.58)

 

Game 2:

Brandon McCarthy, RHP (5-2, 4.92) 

vs.

Brian Tallet, LHP (5-8, 5.09) 

 

It is really important that the Rangers take both these games!! I look foward to see how the return of McCarthy goes. 

One for Millwood, El Duque signing

Rangers – 1

Blue Jays – 0

The Rangers blanked the Jays last night and it is a good thing since they only scored one time themselves. The Rangers offense has been less than impressive for the past few games, but they are still comfortably in 1st. In fact, here are the standings:

Texas – 34-25

Seattle – 30-30

Angels – 29-29

Athletics – 27-32

As long as the Rangers keep winning, it will be tough for the other teams to catch them.

Up Next:

 TEX  Vicente Padilla, RHP (4-3, 5.22)  vs. LAD  Hiroki Kuroda, RHP (1-1, 1.62) 

 

The Dodgers are a very good team this year, and it will be a tough challange for the Rangers if they keep hitting the way they have been.

Also, the Rangers have signed El Duque (Orlando Hernandez) to a minor league deal. If he works out, it will be like the Andrew Jones signing. little risk, alot of reward. Hopefully he still has some arm left, we will see I guess. 

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Late Night

Rangers – 7

Yankees – 3

After a 2.5 hour rain delay off the top, the Rangers came out to prove something against Joba and the Yanks. They took the lead in the first inning and never gave it up. Millwood finally got some run support behind him. The Angels lost again so the Rangers are now 4 games up in the West

Up Next:

Derek Holland, LHP (1-1, 4.82)  vs. A.J. Burnett, RHP (2-2, 5.28)

Look for Holland to have another good start (he only made one mistake last game, but it cost him 3 runs). A.J. has been pitching good of late, but so was Joba. Look for the Rangers to take the series tonight on ESPN.

A Little Confused

Rangers – 1

Yankees – 11

I was a little confused by the coverage that I heard on the radio yesterday after the game. I heard alot of people saying this was proof that the Rangers can’t play with the big boys. Proof that they are not ready for primetime. Because they lost one game to the Yankees? Really? Didn’t the Yankees loose to Baltimore earlier this season by 19 or 20 runs? What does that mean for the Yanks? Are they not ready for Baltimore? Even the best winning teams lose 50-65 games a season, so why is this one so much more important then say, sweeping the Angels? And lets not forget that Matt Harrison is the Rangers 5th starter and also that he is 23 years old.

Its not. They are all just one game. Now if the Yankees sweep the Rangers, we may have reason to be alittle worried, but I still wouldn’t stress out.

Up Next:

Kevin Millwood, RHP (4-4, 3.12)  vs. Joba Chamberlain, RHP (2-1, 3.70)

Lets see if the Rangers can finally give Millwood some run support this season and beat the Yankees.

Big Series

The Texas Rangers are off to a great start. I have been watching the Rangers religously now since 2004, and non-religously since the mid 90’s and before,5000kpitch.jpg and I have never had a feeling that a team had something going the way the Rangers do this season. It might just be because I am a homer, but I am very excited watching the Rangers this season so far. They are pitching better then I have seen them as a team. The 5 starters are all looking strong, their bullpin is keeping them in games, and they are scoring enough runs to be 20-14, 6 games over .500. The defense is also there.
 Elvis Anrdrus is as incredible as they told us he would be, and he may be better then they told us. Michael Young looks good at third, Kinsler has way less errors then he did last year at this time, Chris Davis is starting to look as good as Tex ever did at first with his ability to streach and with his bat, the outfield has too many good players, and Salty is fantastic so far behind the plate. It is truley amazing to watch. Ther is just a good feeling about the ’09 Rangers, and not only the ’09 Rangers, but they could be good for years to come.

Now I am not saying that it is over and the Rangers are going to the World Series, I mean, come on, the season is still very young. I am saying that they are looking so great so far. But this weekend is when they need to prove that the first month and a half of the season was not a fluke, but the real deal. The Angels have pretty much owned the Rangers as long as I have been watching, and it is very important that they take care of buisness this weekend. If they sweep the Angels, they will truly be the best in the West. Even if they take 2 out of 3, It will be a huge boost for all the doubters that think the first 6 weeks are a fluke.

Can they do it? Will they prove that it is not a fluke? Are the Angels better then the Rangers? Those questions will be answered over the next 3 days, and I hope they are answered the way Ranger fans want.

Up Next: Kevin Millwood, RHP (3-3, 2.92) vs. Joe Saunders, LHP (5-1, 2.66)

Who Da Man? Frankie!!

Rangers – 5

A’s – 4

Rangers once again had to come from behind to win this one but they did. They are back to being a .500 team at 10-10. The Rangers needed to score some runs for Millwood for once, and they did, culminating in Blalock and Cruz getting it done in the bottom of the 8th to seal the victory for Millwood. Millwood again went 8 strong innings and he is looking great for the season.

Up Next:

 Padilla (1-1, 8.27) vs. Outman ((0-0, 5.23)

Lets hope Padilla can get the Rangers over the hump to being above a .500 team.

1 game to go

Rangers – 6

Bal – 4

It was good to see the Rangers come from behind and win last nights game, and it was really good to see Matt finally settle down and pitch like all Ranger fans know that he can. I for one was happy to see it. The Rangers still have a long way to go, but they are now only one game out of .500 and I think they will hit that tonight. They had their first winning road trip of the season and I think that will translate into a good home stand. Michael Young is off to his best start power wise that he has ever had.

Tonight it is Millwood  (1-2, 2.10 ERA) vs.  Brett Anderson (0-2, 5.89 ERA)

It is time for the Rangers to give Millwood some run support!