In the midst of their longest losing streak of the season, the Rangers really needed a win Friday at Turner Field in Atlanta.
Somebody in the clubhouse must have spoken to Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz about it. In the 6-2 victory, both men tallied three RBI’s each. Do the math and that means the two of them accounted for all the RBI’s.
Michael Young and Nelson Cruz hit back-to-back doubles in the second inning off Randall Delgado, who was appearing in his first Major League game in the spot start. The consecutive extra-base hits gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead.
Braves catcher Brian McCann would tie the game with a home run to start the bottom of the fourth inning. Starter Colby Lewis, who has truly struggled with the long ball this season, also allowed a solo shot to Freddie Freeman with one out in the fourth,
Friday marked the return of the Colby Lewis the Rangers like to see – the one with the solid fastball command and the confusing diving slider. He struck out 10 and walked five in 6 2/3 innings following two horrific started that totaled just over four innings combined. Also noteworthy, with Jason Heyward at the plate and two outs in the fifth, Lewis made an All-Star defensive play, backhanding the ball to Young at first base for the out.
But now, back to offense. Elvis Andrus reached on an error by third baseman Brooks Conrad. Hamilton stepped to the plate and got a pitch he could drive from an inexperienced pitcher. It flew over the wall for a 3-1 lead and a lot of relief in the Rangers dugout. But Hamilton long blast was just the first of four hard-hit smashes in a row. Adrian Beltre singled as the last batter of Delgado’s night. When Christian Martinez entered, Young singled and Cruz hammered a double to the wall to score both Beltre and Young.
The Rangers added a run in the ninth on three singles and a lineout. Although not a save situation, a well-rested Neftali Feliz threw 11 of 13 pitches for strikes, ringing up two batters in the process.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment