Don’t mess with Tommy Hunter – especially on his birthday. The former two-time Junior Olympic Judo champion turned 24 today.
Last year on his birthday, Hunter got his first Major League win. This year, he improved to 5-0 with a 1.98 ERA in six starts. With a bulldog mentality, Hunter threw 94 pitches and 68 strikes in seven innings. He was operating at peak efficiency in the sixth inning when he needed just three pitches to retire the side, a rare feat. Despite allowing a single to Paul Konerko, former Ranger Andruw Jones hit into a 5-4-3 double play and Mark Kotsay grounded to first. The only run charged to Hunter’s ledger scored after Frank Francisco took over.
The Rangers scored in the second, the fifth and the seventh. The first two runs came off White Sox starter John Danks, a former top prospect in the Rangers organization.
In the second, the Rangers grabbed the early lead on an RBI groundout by Joaquin Arias, who started at first base for Justin Smoak. The groundout followed an infield single by Josh Hamilton, a single by Nelson Cruz and a walk by Bengie Molina. Molina was acquired earlier this week from the San Francisco Giants for Chris Ray and prospect Michael Main. The trade means that Matt Treanor will now serve as the backup backstop and Max Ramirez was sent down to Oklahoma City.
The Rangers played small ball in the fifth. Arias singled to lead off the fifth and Julio Borbon bunted him over to second before Elvis Andrus dropped a shallow single into the outfield for an RBI.
Nelson Cruz came in from third after Smoak pinch hit for Arias in the seventh and grounded into the Rangers’ third twin killing of the game. Josh Hamilton hit into a double play in the sixth inning for the first time this season. He was the only remaining everyday player to have not grouded into a double play.
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