Finally, the Rangers come home after what seemed like a longer road trip than it really was. I saw some of the game, but not most of it. Tonight was the next night in the set of dominos that is getting my house ready for my son, who should be arriving in about four weeks. I spent most of the evening after dinner putting together the crib – the same one our daughter used, and it’s all done up nice, looking forward to that (which will cause a large break when it happens, as I won’t update for awhile then).
The Rangers were very efficient with their offense tonight. They had just five hits the whole night. They were all singles. Hank Blalock had two, and Michael Young, Nelson Cruz, & Salty had one each. But it was enough, as we plated five runs for the win.
On the flip side, Kevin Millwood pitched another great game. He went eight innings, hanging in just long enough to get the win. Our final run came in the bottom of the eighth, when he was effectively (if not technically) done. He really should be 4-0 at this point, but he’s 2-2. This game felt like it was going to go the way of his losses, actually. Fortunately, he came in with the win. Kevin tossed 121 pitches in his eight innings, gave up just four hits and two walks for the two runs. He’s looking like the bulldog, and his 2010 option should vest easily if this keeps up.
Speaking of Kevin, has anyone noticed he looks more like an old school scruffball baseball player since he’s grown in that beard? Has a more “mean” look to him that way, I think.
Chris Davis got ejected from the game for calling balls and strikes. Home plate umpire Eric Cooper was calling a lot of high strikes, and while the TV coverage didn’t have the tracker to check, it seemed a lot were close. Davis grumbled a few times, as did some others (Kinsler and Andruw Jones had visible signs of annoyance). Cooper though seems like that kind of umpire that likes to argue back, and that never helps things. There were called strikeouts to end the second, third, & fourth innings for the Rangers. Just seemed like a lot.
We’re back to .500 with the win. That puts us 2.5 games behind the Mariners for the division lead. SEATTLE?!?! There’s two more games this month, be nice if we can win both of them, and finish 12-10 for April. Not stellar, but given our previous Aprils, it’s a definite improvement. Speaking of improvement, Vicente Pidente needs to show some. He’s been outpitched by Brandon McCarthy so far this year. Eek.
Still plenty of baseball to be played I think the Mariners will fade. Felix Hernandez has put together a lot of good starts, but he has always been able to do that in April. We’ll see if he can make it last.
I like the point about Millwood’s beard. It seems like it’s a good way to get production when everything else just doesn’t work. I’m surprised Andruw didn’t try it last season.