Rangers @ Athletics: July 16th-18th

[Molina00]

Game 1 Recap
Jamey Wright pitched an outstanding game and the Rangers bats doubled their way to victory in a 4-1 win over the Athletics. The Rangers are now .500 (2-2) since the all-star break.

Rangers pitcher Jamey Wright faced off against Oakland rookie Dallas Braden, and dominated the Athletics batters. Jamey threw 7 scoreless innings allowing just 4 hits lowering his ERA to 4.31 and gaining a winning record for the first time as a Ranger at 3-2. Dallas Braden continued to struggle in his rookie season as the Rangers roughed him up for 4 runs on 8 hits over 6 innings. He showed good command though walking only 2, and struck out 7 Ranger hitters.

The game was scoreless through 3 innings when the Rangers broke through for 2 runs in the 4th inning. They would add 2 more runs in the 5th to take a 4-0 lead, largely in part due to doubles by Young, Hairston, Sosa, and Byrd. Oakland failed to get a run on the board until scoring off Frankie Francisco in the 9th inning. That run made it a 4-1 ballgame and created a save situation for Eric Gagne. Gagne came on and did what he does best, shutting down opposing batters in the 9th inning. He notched his 14th save of the season.

The Rangers are now only 3.5 games away from catching the A's for 3rd in the division and possibly moving out of the cellar in the AL West.

[Molina00]

Game 2 Recap
In last night's game against Oakland the Rangers stretched their winning streak to 3 games in an 11-4 romp over the A's. The Rangers 11 runs were the most runs they had scored in a game since an 11-3 win over the Astros on June 22nd, almost a full month ago.

Control problems on both sides helped set the tone for the game as Robinson Tejeda faced off against Chad Gaudin. Tejeda gave up 3 runs on 4 hits and walked 6 over 4.1 innings while Gaudin was roughed up for 5 runs on 8 hits and also 6 walks over 6 innings.

The Rangers broke through early with a run in the top of the 1st and that would be all the scoring until the A's finally tied it up at 1 in the bottom of the 4th. The Rangers countered by scoring a combined 10 runs over the following 5 innings, including 5 of those runs coming in the 7th inning.

The Rangers held a slim 5-4 lead going into the 7th when Ron Mahay was brought in to settle down the A's offense which had scored 4 runs over the previous 3 innings. He did his job brilliantly throwing 3 scoreless innings to lower his season ERA to 2.12 and notched his first save of the season.

Rangers offensive highlights:
Kenny Lofton: 3 for 5, triple, 2 runs scored, 1 walk
Michael Young: 5 for 5, 2 doubles, 3 RBI
Mark Teixeira: 0 for 1 with 4 walks
Bottom of the order: Laird/Vazquez/Hairston combined for 6 runs scored and 3 RBI

[Providence A's]

A's won the 3rd game, but congrats on taking 2 of 3 against us...we've been playing like crap in July, but still...congrats.

[Molina00]

A's won the 3rd game, but congrats on taking 2 of 3 against us...we've been playing like crap in July, but still...congrats.

I was surprised we actually had a chance at a sweep. Sure wasn't expecting it, but 2 out of 3 was nice. I would have updated the 3rd game here, and the Indians series, but just never got around to it.

I hate school.