When you write a headline like that. you think of one thing. The Rangers won this game early on, and rode Tommy Hunter to the win. And to an extent that is right, but..
The pitcher that Seattle sent out there was Felix Hernandez, and to be honest, through the first six innings, it was a total pitcher’s duel. Neither team amounted much of anything, and to be honest, it was a game that was easy to watch, as it moved quickly, and had some crisp pitching.
Until the seventh, when Hernandez broke down. Vlad led off with a single, and after at Cruz fly out, David Murphy homered to left field, giving the Rangers all they really needed for the win. The Rangers tacked on another run this inning after a Moreland walk, a Blanco single, and an Andrus single. And then Felix Hernandez came out of the game. Tommy Hunter was still in the game.
We put up another three spot in the eighth. That was with singles by Hamilton & Guerrero, followed by a double by Cruz, scoring Hamilton. We got the other runs on a sac fly and a wild pitch. So we went up 6-0 in a very short span there late in the game, pretty much making most people forget that the Rangers had nothing until they got into the seventh inning.
Tommy Hunter, however, got his ninth win of the season, going to 9-1. He went 6.1 innings, actually less than Hernandez and gave up the same number of hits, too (8), and one more walk than Hernandez (2 vs 1), but the all important runs column was a big old donut. That was what made Hunter a far more dominant pitcher than Hernandez was. Seems weird, and when you examine the numbers, it doesn’t play out, but when you “feel” it, Tommy Hunter was better than Felix Hernandez.
So we got out of Seattle winning the series 2-1, but we probably should have swept ’em. Still, we have a huge lead over Oakland and Anaheim, and have a shot to put a dent in the A’s starting on Friday night.