The Rangers Are 4-4
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Wasn't that fun?
- Colby Lewis was the Texas starting pitcher today, and in the 1st inning, it didn't look like he would last very long. He gave up a leadoff single to Norichika Aoki, a walk to Kyle Seager, and a double to Nelson Cruz to make it 1-0 Mariners. It took him 29 pitches to get through the frame, and it seemed as if it might be a Phil Klein kind of night for the Rangers. After that, however, Colby settled in nicely. Starting with the last out of the 1st inning, he retired 13 straight hitters into the 6th inning, and went 6.0 innings on 90 pitches with 1 earned run on 4 hits, a walk, and 6 strikeouts. Overall, a fantastic performance from the old man with the bionic hip.
- The outfield had a different look today. Ryan Rua got the start in left field, Ian Desmond shifted over to center field, and Nomar Mazara was once again in right field.
- Rua had a nice game, going 3-for-4 and hitting the ball hard. It wouldn't surprise me terribly to see him get another start tomorrow.
- Mazara, coming off of his shiny debut game, came back and had another nice game. He finished 2-for-4, scoring a run and driving in another with a sacrifice fly in the top of the 8th inning. The thing that has impressed me so far with Mazara is he's managed to do whatever the situation dictated. On the sacrifice fly, he was facing a left-handed pitcher, and instead of trying to swing for the fences, he hit the ball toward left field, and it ended up being enough to score the run.
- Ian Desmond was 0-for-4 today with a walk. While he looks very good in center field, he looks miserably lost at the plate. We're still only a week into the season, but the way he's swinging the bat isn't exactly inspiring confidence. He's going to be a streaky hitter as it is, so perhaps one of those streaks is incoming, but thus far, it's been tough to watch Desmond at-bats.
- Brett Nicholas made his Major League debut, and ended up having himself a nice game. In the 1st inning he threw out Aoki trying to steal 2nd. At the plate, Nicholas was 2-for-4 with a double and 2 runs scored. His family was in the stands cheering him on, and it was fun to see. Great job, Brett.
- Although Keone Kela gave up a 2-run home run to Nelson Cruz in the bottom of the 8th inning, the bullpen looked pretty solid in this game. Sam Dyson continues to look like perhaps the best reliever Texas has, and Jake Diekman came in and worked a quick 1-2-3 9th inning -- courtesy o a fantastic defensive play by Rougned Odor -- to preserve a 7-3 Texas win. They'll do it all over again tomorrow, as Derek Holland will take the mound for Texas against Wade Miley and the Mariners.