Scott Feldman took the hill in this game, and through most of his outing, he was the recent vintage 2012 Scott Feldman. He got into the sixth, and while he wasn’t quite the earlier 2012 vintage Scott Feldman, some of the shine came off a little. Scott held the Tigers to just one one through five innings. Got into the sixth, though, and the wheels fell off in this game. The Tigers plated a run in the fourth. Heck, through the first three innings, Scott faced the minimum, thanks to a double play in the third wiping out a walk.
The run in the fourth was a triple (first hit of the game for Det), and then a single. Scott came back for another 1-2-3 in the fifth. In the sixth, however, he got going quickly, with the first two batters making outs. Then it was single, single, and a three run home run to Prince Fielder, and Feldman was out of the game. Robbie Ross followed, and pitched like the rookie he is. Single, and double, scoring another run.
Then in the seventh, Nelson Cruz had a very bad inning. Looking much like the version from the World Series last year defensively… Nelson dove for a ball, and it got past him to the wall, allowing for an inside the park home run to Austin Jackson. Two batters later, Cruz totally muffed a play where he tried to one hand an out, and oops – it bounced off the heel of his glove for a two base error.
While further pitching was rocky, the Rangers didn’t give up any more runs.
The Rangers had 10 hits, plated two. One on a Josh Hamilton solo home run. The other one was an RBI by Elvis Andrus.
Half the hits were by two guys (Young 3, Moreland 2).
The home run to Fielder, while not all their offense, was a mood setter for sure. Bah.