ST21: Rangers beat Cubs, 5-1

I was listening to this game as I was doing a Yahoo Fantasy Baseball Draft. I did something I know is against just about every piece of advice. Never draft a player based off of something they’re doing in a game you’re listening to. But it was a Rangers Fan League, so I had to do the homer thing. When Kevin Mench jacked a home run in the game, he was my next pick in the draft. I’m so ashamed. :)
Rod Barajas also added a second home run later in the game to go with Mench’s. That was really all we needed, but we also had an RBI contribution from Laynce Nix to go with the two each from Mench & Barajas. Actually, we didn’t have a lot of offense either. Our total hits were 7. 3 from Mench, 2 from Barajas, and one each from Nix & Teixeira.
The Cubs threw their ace, Carlos Zambrano, who took the loss. He did, however, go 6 innings, giving up 6 hits, and 4ER on one walk, and 5 K’s. He was hurt by the longball – if it wasn’t for the two jacks, he would have an awesome line.
R.A. Dickey had a better night. He went six (being the first Ranger pitcher to go at least 5 innings), and gave up ZERO runs on 3 hits with 1 walk and 3 strikeouts. A very nice line for him. Very nice. Probably helps him in the race for the fifth starter. However, the Rangers site mentions that we have some talks going on with the Braves (who want bullpen help) for former Ranger John Thomson (FA after 06). While I think RA helped himself last night, he needs to do that four or five times in a row – he’s been pretty inconsistant his entire career (to me, anyway).
I also direct you to this article by John Vittas over at MVP Network on last night’s Rangers game, RA Dickey, John Thomson, and a bunch of issues on the health of our players. Was a good read.

ST21: Mar 24, 2006 vs. Cubs (W: 5-1)
9-11-1 (.450) – 8th – 5 Dn – Streak W1
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Photos
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Game Recap
SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) — R.A. Dickey threw six shutout innings and Rod Barajas and Kevin Mench homered to help the Texas Rangers beat the Chicago Cubs 5-1 on Friday night.
In his best start of the spring, Dickey allowed three hits and one walk while keeping the Cubs off balance with a knuckleball that hovered between 57 and 65 mph.
Chicago’s Luis Montanez broke up the shutout with a home run in the eighth inning off reliever Brian Shouse.
Dickey, fighting for the fifth spot in the Rangers’ rotation, threw the longest outing of the spring by a Texas pitcher and allowed just one runner to reach third.
“The knuckler was really dancing tonight,” Dickey said. “I’ve seen batters take some funky swings at it, but tonight there were just more of them.”
Barajas, who had two hits and caught for Dickey, agreed.
“It was dancing, but that doesn’t matter if you aren’t throwing it for strikes,” he said. “They were swinging early and swinging late. He did a great job tonight.”
Dickey is trying to crack the rotation in his 10th year in the Rangers’ organization. He has a record of 16-18 in 76 games.
“I think anybody who has been watching knows what this start meant,” Dickey said. “If I’m in the starting rotation it will be because I’ve improved to the point that (manager Buck Showalter) can trust me. I think he can say that.”
Mench, who went 3-for-3, had his sixth home run of the spring off Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano.
Cubs manager Dusty Baker said he was pleased with Zambrano’s performance even though he gave up four earned runs on six hits in six innings. Zambrano struck out five and walked one.
“They’ve got some of the best hitters in the world on that team,” Baker said. “We were going to have Carlos throw seven innings or 90 pitches. The 90 pitches came first.”
Notes
Rangers CF Brad Wilkerson was kept out of the lineup Friday and will miss Saturday’s game because of soreness in his right shoulder. Wilkerson, who’s expected to start after coming to the Rangers in a four-player deal that sent Alfonso Soriano to Washington, will travel to Tempe on Saturday to meet with Los Angeles Angels’ medical director Lewis Yocum. … The Rangers traded C Keith McDonald to the New York Yankees Friday for a player to be named later. In three games this spring, the non-roster invitee was 2-for-4 with two RBIs.

Box Score

CAC  FINAL
1  2  3   4  5  6   7  8  9   R  H  E
-  -  -   -  -  -   -  -  -   -  -  -
CHICAGO CUBS         0  0  0   0  0  0   0  1  0   1  4  0
TEXAS                0  1  0   0  2  1   1  0  x   5  7  0   FINAL

WP - JOSELO DIAZ (1-1)
LP - CARLOS ZAMBRANO (0-2)

HOME RUNS:  CHN - LUIS MONTANEZ (1) OFF BRIAN SHOUSE IN THE 8TH
TEX - KEVIN MENCH (6) OFF CARLOS ZAMBRANO IN THE 2ND
ROD BARAJAS (2) OFF TODD WELLEMEYER IN THE 7TH

TIME: 2:00                   ATT: 10,315

CHICAGO CUBS (1) AT TEXAS (5)

CHICAGO CUBS     AB  R  H BI  TEXAS            AB  R  H BI
J Pierre cf       1  0  0  0  D Dellucci lf     4  0  0  0
F Pie cf          2  0  0  0  D Jimenez ss      0  0  0  0
C Walker 1b       2  0  0  0  M Young ss        4  0  0  0
A Pagan rf        2  0  1  0  K Richardson c    0  0  0  0
J Jones rf        2  0  0  0  M Teixeira 1b     3  0  1  0
M Restovich 1b    2  0  0  0  P Nevin dh        4  0  0  0
M Barrett c       2  0  0  0  H Blalock 3b      4  1  0  0
H Blanco c        2  0  0  0  B Harrison lf     0  0  0  0
J Mabry 3b        2  0  0  0  K Mench rf        3  2  3  2
C McGehee 3b      0  0  0  0  D Meyer ss        0  0  0  0
M Murton lf       2  0  1  0  L Nix cf          3  1  1  1
J Culpepper lf    1  0  0  0  A Hyzdu rf        0  0  0  0
J Hairston Jr 2b  2  0  1  0  R Barajas c       3  1  2  2
R Theriot 2b      0  0  0  0  M Derosa 2b       0  0  0  0
N Perez ss        2  0  0  0  I Kinsler 2b      3  0  0  0
A Ojeda ss        1  0  0  0
C Zambrano p      2  0  0  0
T Wellemeyer p    0  0  0  0
L Montanez ph     1  1  1  1
J Koronka p       0  0  0  0
TOTALS           28  1  4  1  TOTALS           31  5  7  5

CHICAGO CUBS              000 000 010 --  1
TEXAS                     010 021 10x --  5

DP--TEXAS 2. LOB--CHICAGO CUBS 3, TEXAS 3. 2B--M
Murton, K Mench, L Nix. HR--L Montanez 1 (1) (off
B Shouse), R Barajas 1 (2) (off T Wellemeyer), K
Mench 1 (6) (off C Zambrano). SB--J Hairston Jr 1
(2).

IP   H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR
CHICAGO CUBS
C Zambrano (L,0-2)                 6   6   4   4   1   5   1
T Wellemeyer                       1   1   1   1   0   1   1
J Koronka                          1   0   0   0   0   2   0
TEXAS
R Dickey                           6   3   0   0   1   3   0
S Feldman                          1   0   0   0   1   0   0
B Shouse                           1   1   1   1   1   0   1
J Leicester                        1   0   0   0   0   1   0

SO--CHN: J Mabry, H Blanco, C Zambrano, M Murton.
TEX: P Nevin 3, D Dellucci 2, H Blalock, L Nix, I
Kinsler. BB--CHN: J Pierre, R Theriot, C McGehee.
TEX: M Teixeira. T--2:00. A--10,315.

Game Log
Not available for spring training games.