The big story here is that Scott Feldman threw seven scoreless innings. This was his last start of the Cactus league, and it was a great one. Seven innings, six hits, one walk, two strikeouts, and a total of 89 pitches. His overall spring ERA is now 2.93. I picked him up in all four of my fantasy league drafts, not many people picked him up, which was a surprise. It was very cool he was named the home opener. A lot of people who write a lot better than me have written about this situation. I’ll just say it’s very very cool that he got the opening game nod. Especially as it’s at home this year. I really hope when he’s announced there’s an extra loud cheer for him.
Offensively, the Rangers finally broke their streak of innings without an extra base hit with a double by David Murphy in the fifth inning. But it was the only extra base hit, so it’s not like the floodgates opened. Other than the double, the Rangers had THIRTEEN singles. With all those hits, just five runs seems like a disappointment, especially when the White Sox only turned one double play.
But this game was about the pitching. Scott Feldman looked awesome, and Chris Ray and Frank Francisco didn’t give up anything either. This game bodes well for us pitching wise, but not the offense. Which seemed like the story of 2009.