Final Score: Yankees 3, Rangers 0 Winning Pitcher: Mike Mussina(15-7) Losing Pitcher: Scott Feldman(4-5) Save: Mariano Rivera(28)
Game summary: The Rangers have played 116 games this year, and out of them, this could have been the most bland one yet. A Ranger offense who leads the league in runs scored per game(somewhere in the 6-6.5 range) put up a huge goose egg tonight. Mike Mussina proved that he deserved to win, throwing 7 innings of great stuff. Scott Feldman was fairly consistant, only allowing two earned runs. However, with an offense deader than a 20 year old car battery behind him, his quality start was useless tonight. The runs were not scored in an exciting way, minus the first inning solo home run of Derek Jeter(7).
The Good: The pitching from both squads. The Rangers only allowing only 3 runs in a game is great. They normally are good for 5 or 6, so this shows marked improvement. Also, kudos for the Ranger defense. They executed 3 double plays to prevent any more damage than 3 runs. The defense was by far the best quality of the Rangers on this night.
The Bad: Oh God where do I start? Maybe the offense shared a bottle of Jose Cuervo with Randy Galloway(who proclaimed Tony Romo just as good as Aikman, Staubach, and White in his Fort-Worth Star Telegram column today). Because being hung over is the only excuse I can think of for being awful tonight. The Yankees left more men on base than the Rangers, yet they still beat the Rangers. That shows just how stagnant the offense was.
The Ugly: Marlon Byrd's Cinderella last couple of games came to an end tonight. Byrd proved once again that, while he is up in the majors, his baserunning fundamentals were that of the Southlake Carrol Boys Varsity team(if that good). He cost the Rangers an out and a possible run by trying to advance to third on a ball that was hit directly to the pitcher. There is an outfielder in Oklahoma City named Nelson Cruz Jr. who is tearing up the Pacific Coast League. Surely he can not be as bad as Byrd on the base paths. Send Byrd down, and bring Cruz up. That simple.
Series Recap: For the Rangers, who had not won in Arlington against the Yankees in 10 games coming into this series, this can be called mild success. Splitting a series with a team that has made the playoffs the last 13 years in a row is nothing to spit at. While not gaining ground in the Wild Card race, they proved they can hang with the big boys, even if its only for two games. The pitching gave me hope, limiting a potent offense to the lower end of the number line for the most part. Hopefully the new regime at the helm as far as pitching goes can straighten the current staff out. If the offense performs like they are supposed to, and the pitching can perform like it has, this team could possibly be playing in October. Possibly.
Preview for next game-8/8 vs. Baltimore Orioles(54-59): This could be a good series for the Rangers. After starting out hot, Baltimore is cooling down quickly. With 8-8 Jeremie Guthrie going for the O's, and 3-4 Luis Mendoza going for the Rangers, this game could go either way. Both teams are young, and not expected to do much this year. Look for the Rangers to hopefully wake up this weekend, and see if they can't blast the Birds out of the sky with their power bats. A three game sweep of the Orioles could be exactly what the doctor ordered for this team as they try to push for the Wild Card.
Final Score: Yankees 5, Rangers 3 Winning Pitcher: Sidney Ponson(7-2) Losing Pitcher: Tommy Hunter(0-1) Save: Mariano Rivera(27)
Game summary: Normally I would start writing the recap o####ame around the 7th inning, when it's usually decided who will win and who will lose. However, with the Rangers only down by two runs going into the bottom of the ninth, the Cardiac Kids of major league baseball have come back from bigger deficits than that. However, Mariano Rivera proved to be as lights out as he has been in his previous save attempts, polishing off the Ranger offense to become perfect in save attempts this year(27 for 27). In other news, Jason Giambi hit a solo home run(22) off Ranger starter Tommy Hunter. Michael Young also hit a home run(10) in the bottom of the 4th off Sidney Ponson.
Good: Sidney Ponson is one of the most underrated pitchers in the majors. A 7-2 record would make him a #2 or #3 starter on most MLB rosters. However, after talking his way out of the Rangers organization, the Yankees were the only one who would take a chance on him. Neither offense really did much, but Jason Giambi hitting his 22nd home run was a nice touch on a good comeback season for Giambi. Chris "Crush" Davis continued the hot streak he has had of late, hitting a 2-run single in the 2nd inning(28).
Bad: Tommy Hunter showed his inexperience on the mound today. While having a wicked curveball at times, he missed the plate numerous times. With the new pitching coaches trying to stress pounding the strike zone, Hunter strayed away from this during his 4 and 1/3rd innings of work. Overall, this was just a bad game. Neither offense really showed much pop, and the Ranger pitching was bland.
Ugly: Umpiring took a bad turn for the second night in a row. In the second inning Robinson Cano got to a ball that clearly skipped the ground before entering his glove, allowing Josh Hamilton to score from 3rd. However, Cano and Joe Giradi argued the call, saying Cano caught it and the bases should stay loaded. The umpires acquiesced and sent Gerald Laird back to the dugout. Ron Washington tried his best to argue the call, but he was rejected. Michael Young, even though he hit his 10th home run, was awful tonight. Not only did he dive and miss at a ball that allowed two runs to score, he dropped a ball during a Derek Jeter rundown that could have proved disastrous if Hunter didn't strike out Alex Rodriguez at the next pitch. He followed up in the next inning with a strikeout. Mistakes like these down the stretch will cost the team. Also ugly was the collision between David Murphy and Ivan Rodriguez on the play at the plate. While the play showed Pudge's dedication to great defense even at his advanced age, it took both Murphy and Rodriguez out of the game. With the Yankees trading for Pudge because of Jorge Posada's season ending shoulder surgery, this can not be good for them.
Preview of next game-8/7 vs. New York Yankees(62-52): Scott Feldman works on 4 days rest against Mike "Moose" Mussina. This is a classic youth vs. experience battle. A win for the Yankees would cement them as a contender in the wild card, and give them some added energy going into their next couple of games. The Rangers, who with this loss dropped to 6 games behind in the Wild Card, with a win would jump-start their Wild Card hopes. They play in Baltimore for 3 games coming up, and with the Orioles slumping, it could mean gaining major ground in the Wild Card. Both teams could benefit greatly from a win tomorrow night.
Final Score: Rangers 8, Yankees 2 Winning Pitcher: Matt Harrison(3-2) Losing Pitcher: Andy Pettitte(12-9) Save: Eddie Guardado(3)
Game summary: The Rangers were relatively untested in the opening of the game, with Josh Hamilton hitting a 2 run home run(27, 108) in the 1st inning, Chris Davis hitting a sac fly in the 3rd inning to bring home Marlon Byrd, and then hitting a double in the 7th inning to bring home three runs(26). The other two runs were driven in by Travis Metcalf(1) and David Murphy(74) in the 2nd and 6th innings. Matt Harrison was dominant in his fifth major league start, going 6 and 1/3rd innings, allowing two earned runs, and striking out three batters. The Yankees got the bulk of their runs on a Richie Sexson grand slam(12,36) in the 8th inning off struggling closer C.J. Wilson, who was in the game to work out some bugs without having to worry about a game being on the line. Jamey Wright came in after the grand slam, and closed out the eighth inning. Eddie Guardado came in to close out the ninth, allowing one base runner before inducing a double play to end the game and pick up his third save of the season. The Good: Almost everyone wearing a Texas Ranger uniform. Young lefty Harrison had what many will consider his best start of the season against a play-off quality team. He had command of his pitches, and was getting outs like they were going out of style. Youth prevailed, with Metcalf playing excellent defense, Davis driving in four more RBIs, and Hamilton hitting his 27th home run of the season. Jamey Wright did well when called on to preserve the Ranger lead after Wilson gave up the grand slam to Sexson. The Bad: If you are a Yankees fan, you must have been cringing for most of the game. Robinson Cano picked up his 9th error of the season in the 2nd inning when Metcalf hit a screamer towards him that he missed snagging while trying to grab it on the run. Andy Pettitte, normally a very consistent left hander, gave up five earned runs in only five innings of work. The Yankee offense, minus the Sexson grand slam, was stagnant. Last nights walk off grand slam by Marlon Byrd might have held a hangover over the team, as they looked like something the cat threw up. Gerald Laird, who is a solid defender yet can't be considered a rock solid defensive catcher, failed in two attempts to throw out runners, one attempt high and the other low and in the dirt. While this did not affect the game as a whole, Laird showed he still needs more work after coming back from his injury a couple of weeks ago. The Ugly: C.J. Wilson is still the closer, according to manager Ron Washington. However, after giving up a grand slam to Richie Sexson in the 8th inning, he showed why Eddie Guardado has been getting the nod in the 9th over Wilson the last couple of games. Granted, I think Wilson is a good pitcher who just needs to work more on his location and control more. He has good velocity(fastballs are routinely clocked at 94 and 95 mph) but can not keep them out of the dirt or in the strike zone. With the Rangers committed to a youth movement on their team, it is critical for Wilson to get back as soon as he can. Preview of next game-8/6 vs. New York Yankees(61-52): Polar opposites take the mound tomorrow as journeyman starter Sidney Ponson takes the hill for the Yankees, while Ranger big-league newcomer Tommy Hunter makes the start for the Rangers. Hunter's last start(against Toronto) was a complete disaster. He comes into this game with a 10.80 ERA. Ponson has been solid, even though the Rangers designated him for assignment earlier this year. Against Texas, Ponson has an 8-2 record with 5.22 ERA in 16 starts against Texas. With the Rangers streaking, and a season best six games over .500, this should be an interesting game. Will the Yankee offense overpower the young pitcher, or will the Rangers keep the gravy train rolling against a former teammate?
I am a junior at Azle High School, and sports editor of the AHS newspaper. I enjoy watching, listening to, and writing about all the sports that I am interested in. I hope you enjoy what I write, and even if you do not enjoy it I hope you think about what you read. Then I have done my job in the world. Thanks ahead of time for reading.
