Rangers vs. Mariners

[BigTex]

West coast baseball - boo!

[Bob Of Burleson]

West Coast baseball - yea!

[Bob Of Burleson]

For Rangers,
just enough is good enough
to beat the King

By Jeff Wilson
jwilson@star-telegram.com

SEATTLE — Friday night wasn’t the first time the Texas Rangers had defeated Felix Hernandez, who has lost to them more than any other team in his career.

But count the Rangers’ 1-0 victory over Hernandez and the Seattle Mariners as one of the more improbable among the 21 losses they have handed the former Cy Young winner and one of the best pitchers going this season.

To do it, the Rangers needed a combination of starter Nick Tepesch matching Hernandez zero for zero. They needed the bullpen to keep up Tepesch’s pace. They needed the healthy legs of Elvis Andrus, and the banged-up legs of Shin-Soo Choo and Adrian Beltre.

The Rangers got it all en route to their second consecutive shutout and their American League-leading 13th shutout of the season.

“It was a good team win,” Tepesch said.

He didn’t earn the win, but he allowed only two hits and two walks in 6 1/3 efficient innings, and Jason Frasor, Shawn Tolleson and Joakim Soria got the final eight outs as the Rangers moved within a game of .500.

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2014/06/14 ... rylink=cpy

[Bob Of Burleson]

By Jamey Newberg

Well, my Friday the 13th had a couple “Holy S” moments, starting with Fixi Shop in Arlington bringing my cell phone back to life after several other places wanted 10 times the fee to tell me they would try (but doubted they could save it), and ending with the Nick Tepesch Rangers 1, King Felix Mariners 0.

Five days without a phone or text lifeline was almost as bad as the coming to terms with the thought that I’d lost the hundreds of photos I’d idiotically failed to preserve since my last backup.

Texas racking up its 13th shutout — in 67 games, which is the fastest any American League team has accomplished that total in the 42-year DH era — just defies common sense for all kinds of reasons, among which is that Derek Holland, Matt Harrison, and Martin Perez (not to mention Tanner Scheppers, Neftali Feliz, and Alexi Ogando out of the pen) have watched most of it happen with the rest of us.

Joey Gallo’s fourth home run in five days as a RoughRider on Friday doesn’t even register as high on the “Holy S” scale, but I would point out that last night’s bomb in Corpus gave him 13 road homers for the season (in only 31 games), and he has gone deep this year on April 13, on May 13, and on June 13. Then again, really, it feels like the odds were only slightly against that, and I’m no longer going to upbraid anyone who suggests to me that Gallo could be in Arlington before September 13.

I’m not sure what the opposite of triskaidekaphobia is (triskaidekaphilia?), but I’m counting on more good things the next time Friday the 13th rolls around (it’s next February — maybe a healthier rotation and a long-term deal in place for its ace?), and I’m just going to assume yesterday’s was a sign of good things to come in the meantime, and with Joe Saunders set to go tonight, and Nick Martinez drawing Hisashi Iwakuma Sunday afternoon, I’m actually prepared to believe that Texas is about to win its first damn series of the month.

[BigTex]

They need replay to keep track of balls and strikes?

[Bob Of Burleson]

Leonys Martin delivers late,
Joe Saunders delivers
on mound in 4-3 win

By Jeff Wilson
jwilson@star-telegram.com

SEATTLE — The hero Saturday night was Leonys Martin, who delivered a crucial two-out RBI single in the ninth inning to send the Texas Rangers to their third straight victory.

Neal Cotts deserves a tip of the cap, too, after limiting the damage in the seventh and delivering perhaps his best inning of the season in the eighth.

Robinson Chirinos’ two-run homer was a big blow for the offense.

However, the biggest and most unexpected contribution came from left-hander Joe Saunders, the pitcher no one wanted in the off-season and the one that many had hoped would never come off the disabled list and pitch again for the Rangers.

But he currently rates as their second-best starter after his first four starts off the disabled list. They haven’t been great, as he readily admits, but each one has exceeded expectations and given the Rangers a chance to win.

Saunders allowed two run in six innings, and Martin drove home the go-ahead run against Seattle closer Fernando Rodney as the Rangers squeaked past the Mariners 4-3 at Safeco Field.

They got their second straight one-run win because of their starting pitcher.

“Joe has been outstanding for us,” said Chirinos, the Rangers’ catcher. “Since Day 1 since he came back from the DL, he’s been competing, pitching well and giving us a chance to win.”

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2014/06/15 ... rylink=cpy

[Bob Of Burleson]

Make that 3:10 p.m. our time.

[Lannie]

They have the most shutouts but until last night they had the highest Team ERA. Strange stats.

[Bob Of Burleson]

Brad Snyder's Major League batting statistics



In the HR totals column, you can replace the "0" with a "1." Snyder, the Rangers' emergency first baseman, just homered. Texas 1, Mariners 0 in the third.