Hello Win Column, Win #10: Rangers Pull Out Scrappy 5-4 Win Over Oakland

Yesterday's game was interesting. The Rangers, all things considered, got lucky. They were lucky that the starting pitcher Anderson had to leave the game, having given up only one earned run through 5. They were lucky when the defensively sound Orlando Cabrera let a grounder go through his legs. They were lucky when Hank Blalock's grounder went in the direction of the defensively inept Jason Giambi. They were lucky when Matt Holliday bobbled Nelson Cruz's single in the eighth. The Rangers caught a lot of breaks.

But you know what we can take from all this? The Rangers didn't beat themselves. While the defense wasn't spectacular, the team kept scraping their way back into the game and kept Oakland from running away with it. So, yes, the Rangers got lucky. But they kept themselves in a position to win. We don't have to many of these games, so I think this game (lucky or not) was a huge step forward.

Game Boxscore, Recap

Now let's hear from the losing locker room:

[Author's note: Unfortunately, Athletics Nation (the SB Nation A's blog) was the only A's blog I could find with updated game recaps, which makes them my only source here. If anyone reading out there knows of another one, please let me know in the comments!]

A's lose four, then the game from Athletics Nation

"I don't know why, but it always seems like weird things happen in Texas. There was an ejection. There were four errors, two by each team. But costliest of all for the time being, the A's lost four players to injury, then they lost the game 5-4 . . . Prior to leaving the game, Anderson was having a fine start for the A's . . . Overall, a very bad night for the A's. Only in Texas."

Additionally, they had this humorous bit to share about Vicente Padilla in a preview for tonight's game:

"On the mound for the Rangers is righty Vicente Padilla, who is as enigmatic as they come. Padilla can be brilliant and certainly has great stuff, or he can give up back-to-back-to-back HRs or he can decide to plunk a hitter in the 1st inning and opt for an early shower."