An Runs Onslaught, But A Nice Performance From Colby Lewis, Too: Rangers 11 Athletics 2

When the Rangers finally forced a run across in the ninth inning of Friday’s game, I took it as a good sign – that this mini 14-inning scoreless streak would soon come to an end.


I was right.

Unlike Friday night when the Rangers failed to take advantage of three first-inning walks, this time they capitalized on Elvis Andrus’ first-inning free pass. With two outs and Andrus on third thanks to a steal, Adrian Beltre doubled him home, yet another two-out RBI for the Rangers.

The A’s tied the game in the second on a home run by Kurt Suzuki. Colby Lewis, who surrendered three long balls in one inning on Monday, would allow another home run in the fourth to Josh Willingham, account for all the A’s offense.

But the good news is that was it. The major meltdown or multitude of baserunners in one inning were nowhere to be seen. Lewis, like the other starters, bore down to strike out six and walk one for eight innings. With such a depleted bullpen and the struggles of the starters this week, the Rangers really needed a performance like Saturday’s to help re-establish their overall confidence. Trust me, they also want to be able to depend on Lewis, the only pitcher with a World Series victory for the Rangers.

Michael Young has always been dependable, but with a batting average of .342 and 12 doubles in April, he is really showing it off right now. The only thing he hadn’t down is deliver a homer.

After Andrus led off the third with a single, Young smacked a pitch from Brett Anderson to check that off the list also. The homer gave the Rangers a 3-1 lead they would hold for the rest of the game. In fact, it would become a slugfest, at least for the Rangers. Nelson Cruz and Mike Napoli joined in in the fifth inning. Following singles from Young and Beltre, Cruz brought out the “boomstick,” for a three-run shot and a more comfortable 6-2 lead. Designed hitter Mike Napoli came up with his own version, and the scoreboard read 7-2.

After Anderson was tagged with all seven runs, a go-around of four bullpen guys took their turn at one inning each. David Purcey allowed a run on a David Murphy single and Ian Kinsler two-bagger. Jerry Blevins watched the score balloon to 11-2 after an error by shortstop Cliff Pennington in the ninth.

Can I order up a second helping of this for Sunday?