Texas Rangers @ Los Angeles Angels (April 4th-6th)

[Molina00]

Game 1 Recap
After dropping 2 out of 3 games in Seattle the Rangers got off to a great start in yesterday's game against the Angels. The offense was clicking scoring 11 runs on 12 hits and the pitching was solid not allowing a run until the 9th inning.

The Rangers broke through early scoring a 2nd inning run against Angels starter Dustin Moseley, then added 4 more runs against him 4th, thanks to a Ben Broussard grand slam, to take a 5-0 lead. Kason Gabbard pitched 7 scoreless innings for the Rangers to pick of his first win of the season, but the Angels were not going down without a fight. With the Rangers leading 11-0 in the 9th reliever Dustin Nippert, making his Ranger debut, gave up 6 runs on hits and a walk while registering just 2 outs. Eddie Guardado got the final out of the inning to seal the deal for Texas and the Rangers improved to 2-2 on the season.

Offensive Highlights
Ian Kinsler: 3 for 5, 2-2B, 2 Runs, 2 RBI
Josh Hamilton: 2 for 5, 1-2B, 3 RBI
David Murphy: 2 for 4, 1-2B, 2 Runs, 1 Stolen Base
Ben Broussard: 1 for 4, 1 HR, 2 Runs, 4 RBI

Pitching Highlight
SP-Kason Gabbard: 7 IP, 7 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K

[riverdunesrat]

ll be watching tonight. Lets hope the Angels come alive BEFORE the 9th inning tonight.....starts in about 20 minutes.

[redsrbetter]

I predict a huge game from Hamilton tonight capped off with two outfield assists. Have you guys even witnessed his amazing arm yet?

[Molina00]

I predict a huge game from Hamilton tonight capped off with two outfield assists. Have you guys even witnessed his amazing arm yet?

That would be great.

I saw him throw to home in the season opener, but the runner on 3rd wasn't going. I'm not sure how he's done defensively the last couple of games, but I'll just say he's do for some great plays now.

[DravenX]

The HP ump missed that call. He touched the plate before he was tagged. Bad call for the Angels. Rangers got lucky.

[BronxBomberz]

The Rangers flu bug was not confined to the infield. Turns out Vicente Padilla was hit with it, too. Padilla had to make his last start in Seattle while fighting the effects of the same flu virus that inflected infielders Michael Young, Ian Kinsler and Hank Blalock during the first week of the season. But he still was able to pitch six innings against the Mariners. He gave up eight hits and three walks but was able to fight his way out of trouble and allow just one run.
He is scheduled to start on Sunday against the Angels.
"He should be fine," pitching coach Mark Connor said. "He had a little bit of the bug in his last start, but it's gone by him. He threw his bullpen [on Friday] and there was no problem."
The flu seems to have run its course. Blalock was scratched from Friday's game because of light-headedness but was back in the lineup on Saturday. Young and Kinsler are pretty much over it. No other outbreaks have been detected.
Padilla should have his supporting cast at full strength when he pitches against the Angels on Sunday and tries to build on his strong first outing.
"He pitched well," Connor said. "He mixed his pitches well. He used his offspeed pitches to keep hitters off-balance but what I liked is he attacked hitters and located his fastball well."

Pitching matchup
TEX: RHP Vicente Padilla (0-0, 1.50 ERA)
Padilla's first two starts are on the road. In 2007, he was 2-7 with an 8.04 ERA in 13 starts on the road. He was 0-2 with a 7.36 ERA in three starts against the Angels last year and is 3-2 with a 5.11 ERA in nine starts against them in his career. He is 2-1 with a 5.33 ERA in Anaheim. Vladimir Guerrero is 16-for-39 (.410) with three home runs against Padilla.
LAA: RHP Jon Garland (1-0, 1.13 ERA)
Garland was acquired from the White Sox in the offseason and won his first start, beating the Twins, 9-1, on Tuesday. He held them to one run in eight innings. He is 4-7 with a 5.50 ERA in his career against the Rangers, his third-highest ERA against an American League team. He has a career .4.94 ERA at Angel Stadium, where opponents are hitting .304 off him. This will be his first start there as an Angel.
Tidbits
Manager Ron Washington considered giving Jason Botts his first start on Sunday but said will stick with Ben Broussard at first base. The Rangers are 35-44 in day games since the start of the 2006 season. ... The Rangers had a six-game winning streak snapped against the Angels on Saturday night but are still 25-43 against them in their last 68 games.

The Official Site of The Texas Rangers: News: Padilla over flu bug that hit in first start

Go rangers

[Roy31]

I can't believe Millwood & Padilla are actually pitching half decent.

[Molina00]

The Rangers had a pretty good chance at sweeping the series it looked like. As is often the case when they get good pitching, the offense just couldn't get it going in game 2. Two out of three against the Angels is still pretty good though.

Game 2 Recap
Kevin Millwood made the start for Texas and notched the club's first complete game of the season. Considering it was only the 5th game of the season, that is a remarkable achievement for a Ranger starter. It was unfortunately only an 8 inning complete game however as the Rangers failed to get the bats going. Millwood allowed just 2 runs but was outdueled by Jered Weaver who pitched 7 scoreless innings. The Rangers lone run come from a David Murphy 8th inning homerun, his first blast of the season.

Millwood is now 0-2 on the season, but hold an impressive 1.29 ERA, a clear victim of low run support.


Game 3 Recap
Run support was not a problem in the series finale. The Rangers put 10 runs on the board against the Angels pitching staff, including 3 homeruns. Vicente Padilla pitched a solid game too.

The Angels broke through first with a Garrett Anderson homerun in the 2nd, but the Rangers answered with two runs of their own in the 3rd to take a 2-1 lead. Gerald Laird hit a 3-run bomb in the 4th to give Texas a 5-1 lead. The Angels countered with two more runs to make a 5-3 ballgame. That would be as close to the lead as the Angels would get, and the Rangers went on to score 5 more runs, including another homerun from Laird and Ben Broussard 3rd blast of the year, and the Rangers finished with a 10-4 victory to take the series two games to one.

Offensive Highlights
David Murphy: 2 for 5, 1 Run scored, 1 stolen base
Ben Broussard: 1 for 3, 1 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB
Gerald Laird: 4 for 6, 2 HR, 3 R, 6 RBI

Pitching Highlights
Vicente Padilla: Win - 7 IP - 9 H - 4 R - 3 ER - 0 BB - 4 K


Season Note:
I know it's early, but it's still a nice thing to note that after 6 starts the Rangers starting pitchers have a combined 3.23 ERA in 39 innings of work thus far. The only bad outting by a Ranger starter was Jason Jennings giving up 4 runs on 5 hits over 5 innings in his Ranger debut.