The Rangers Are 38-24

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The Rangers just won a game they probably had no business winning.

  • Colby Lewis, in typical 2016 fashion, was beyond solid on the night. He went a full eight innings, only allowed three hits, no walks, and just one run on a solo home run. At 88 pitches, Colby probably could have come back out for the 9th inning. He was that good. His pitcher game score was 75. Pretty good stuff.
     
  • Going into the top of the ninth inning, and down 1-0, the general consensus on Twitter seemed to be that folks wanted anyone but Prince Fielder up with the game on the line. Alas, Fielder ended up coming to the plate with two outs, and down to his final strike, hit possibly the hardest ball I've seen him hit in a Rangers uniform. It was crushed.
     
  • Of course, that came after I tweeted out that Fielder looked mostly awful and wasn't showing any signs of turning his season around. He finished the night 3-for-5, so for a day, I look silly. By no means does it mean his season is back on track, but for a night, he put the Rangers in position to steal a game they had no business winning.
     
  • This game ended up going eleven innings, and in the top half, Rougned Odor led it off with a home run that was crushed to straightaway center field. That gave Texas the final 2-1 margin.
     
  • Ian Desmond had a fantastic game in center field. He was all over the field, making plays, none bigger than a ball Robinson Cano hit to shallow center field while Desmond was playing deep. Desmond charged it, made the sliding catch, and that quite possibly kept the tying run from scoring.
     
  • This is the type of game that felt weird. If the Rangers hadn't tied it in the ninth and went on to lose, hey, at least Colby saved the bullpen. However, once it went eleven innings, it was the type of game that feels great to win and demoralizing to lose -- at least from a fan perspective. So, suffice to say, the Mariners probably aren't feeling too great about letting this one slip away.
     
  • Rubber match tomorrow with Cole Hamels on the mound at 3:10 PM for your American League best Texas Rangers.