There was’t much going on in this game as we got to the later stages. In the bottom of the sixth, the teams were tied 1-1. By all accounts, both Matt Harrison & Kevin Millwood were both throwing decent games, even if Millwood’s pitch count was up there (97 in 5 innings). So it was when we got to the bottom of the sixth when things started to actually happen..
If Kevin Millwood had kept his pitch count down a bit, he might have stuck around longer and kept the game the way it was going. He was out after five with 97 pitches, and when the bottom of the sixth started, things changed instantly. Reliever Steve Delabar immediately walked Adrian Beltre (on four pitches). David Murphy battled a little, and ended up with a single. After striking out Nelson Cruz, Delabar allowed a three run home run to Mike Napoli, which was the big deal of the game. At that time, it put the Rangers up 4-1, ended their scoring.
The other Rangers run that came earlier in the game was a Nelson Cruz solo home run – so 100% of the runs due to home runs is old school Rangers for sure.
Matt Harrison was strong, which is something that’s a little rare at the moment. Eight innings pitched, scattered seven hits, didn’t walk anyone, and punched out five on his way to allowing just the two runs. All the Mariners “offense” came against Harrison. Of the seven hits, five were singles. One double, one triple. That’s it, though.
Nice to see a strong outing by both Rangers pitchers. Harrison on the starting end, and Joe Nathan on the closing end. Nathan threw a perfect, 13 pitch inning for his 11th save of the season.