When I saw the bottom of the Rangers lineup for Thursday night’s game against the Oakland A’s, I have to admit I got a little worried. On paper, Joaquin Arias, Mitch Moreland and Taylor Teagarden don’t carry the necessary punch needed for an intra-division rivalry.
Moreland, a first baseman, was called up for his Major League debut, the resulting roster move after Ian Kinsler went on the disabled list with a groin strain – an injury I don’t remember occurring. Joaquin Arias, who started the game at second, has only played in a handful of games during the past two months, although one was a three-hit bonanza for him. Teagarden had been in the minors since May but became the backup to Bengie Molina when Matt Treanor strained his knee last week.
So it looked like the bottom of the order might be simple, easy outs. Not the case. Moreland lined a 3-1 pitch for a single to right like it was no big deal for his first Major League when he came up in the second inning. The hit came off Ben Mazzaro, who is even younger Moreland. Moreland added a second single in the eighth.
Looking to put his season mark of 1-for-27 in the big leagues behind him, Teagarden put an exclamation point on a 5-3 game in the sixth with a long two-run blast to make it 7-3 and get officially off the snide. The home was the second of the inning after David Murphy parked one in the seats to begin the inning. Moreland hit a long fly ball to center that was caught at the wall.
Michael Young went 4-for-4 with three runs scored. Josh Hamilton had three hits and run scored, while Vladimir Guerrero tallied a pair of RBIs.
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