After losing two consecutive games in heartbreaking (okay, at this stage of the pre-season, maybe slightly annoying) walkoff fashion it seemed like the Rangers fortunes where due for a change Saturday. And a return to Surprise stadium seemed to be just what the bats needed as they cranked out 11 hits and 10 runs - including a trio of homers - to propel them past the Padres to a 10-7 victory.
While recently re-crowned opening day starter Kevin Millwood was only mediocre through his 5 innings (surrendering 4 runs on 6 hits and a walk, K'ing 2) the Texas offense would hit San Diego lefties Matt LeBlanc and Nick Schmidt hard early, tagging the two of them for 9 runs on 5 hits, 5 walks and an error. Michael Young, returned from the World Baseball Classic, got it started in the first, clubbing a solo homer, while the Rangers tacked on two more with an RBI walk and a sac fly by Elvis Andrus (who went 2-3 to go along with his bases-loaded free pass) and Ian Kinsler in the second.
The big inning came in the fourth, immediately after the Padres took a short-lived lead when minor leaguer Pete Ciofrone hit a solo homer off Millwood in the top of the frame. Chris Davis greeted Nick Schmidt with a home run to the opposite field (Davis' first of the spring), and perhaps shaken, Schmidt proceeded to walk two of the next three batters. Along with a throwing error by SD third baseman Brett Dowdy that plated a run, that set the table for the big blows from Josh Hamilton and pinch-hitter Travis Metcalf: a 2-run double and a 2 run single (respectively) to make it a 6 run inning.
Metcalf (who wound up going 2-3) only entered the game because Hank Blalock left the game with "tightness in his left quadriceps muscle", joining RHP Tommy Hunter as the second Ranger to succumb to a muscle strain today (Hunter had strained his right groin muscle in an intrasquad game earlier). Blalock of course has played only 123 games total over the last two seasons due to injuries - hopefully this is nothing, just like the Brandon McCarthy shoulder soreness scare last week, but you've got to be holding your breath just a little right now for Hank.
The Rangers didn't score again until Joaquin Arias lifted a solo homer in the 8th inning (as it was his only AB of the day, it upped his spring average to .550 - however it's only his first XBH of the entire spring) but the lead they pulled out to with that 6-run fourth proved to be enough for them to hang on, even through a horrid 6th inning by NRI lefty Joe Torres in which he walked four Padres and surrendered 2 runs. From what Evan Grant mentioned in his postgame wrapup, it appears the struggles of his latest outing may have "taken him out of the mix" for a possible spot as the Rangers bullpen lefty.
The real story on the pitching end came in the 8th and 9th innings though (after Willie Eyre, who is also fighting for a bullpen spot, worked around a double to provide a scoreless 7th) when hot prospect Derek Holland took the mound. "Dutch" might have turned in his best outing of the spring as far as his stuff goes (he certainly had Grant raving), mowing down the Padres in the 8th in order via flyout, groundout and strikeout, flashing a 94 MPH fastball, and then touching 96 as he struck out the first two hitters of the 9th as well. The only blemish came when it was time to get the games last out, as he grazed Kyle Blanks on the shinguard with a pitch and then got tagged for a double off the wall by Chad Huffman, who went 3-3 with 2 doubles on the day for the Padres. Sean Kazmar then managed to poke a single just past Joaquin Arias reach at second to bring in a run before Holland finally got Travis Denker to ground to Justin Smoak at first. That blemish aside however, Holland looked utterly brilliant - for whatever my opinions worth, I thought he flashed all the stuff and the composure you'd hope to see from a top prospect this afternoon.
So, to sum up: offense = good. Chris Davis may finally be awakening - Marlon Byrd (2-4) and Greg Goslon (1-1, 2B), who I didn't mention above also continue to impress this spring. Kevin Millwood wasn't great, but at least he didn't give up 10 runs on 12 hits this time. And of course Derek Holland... was just being Derek Holland.
Anyway, not to cut this abruptly short, as there are a few more notes I could go into now - but since it's getting late, and I'm rather late getting this up as it is, I figure I'll save it till tomorrow. After all, seeing as how Monday's an off day I'll need something to write about.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment