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Brutal Month for Lawmen
Texas closed out June and began July with wins over the Angels, beating two of the Halos top three starters – Joe Saunders and Jered Weaver. The wins, which were the fourth and fifth in six games this season against the Angels, pulled the Lawmen to within one-half game of the A. L. West lead.
On May 30, Texas beat Oakland to take a 5.5 game lead in the division. After opening this week’s series with a loss last Monday, they trailed Los Angeles by 2.5 games. The eight-game swing in the standings resulted from a horrific 11-15 June, a month in which the Ranger offense came to a screeching halt. For the month they scored 99 runs, the fewest in the American League, and their batting average (.225) and on-base percentage (.288) was the worst in the Majors. After starting the month with a 3-3 road trip to New York and Boston, the Texas schedule looked favorable to extend their lead and solidify the team as playoff contenders. All but three games against teams with winning records were at home, and their inter-league matchups included series against struggling National League teams – Houston, Arizona and San Diego. Unfortunately, the results on the field didn’t meet expectations.
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Wednesday’s win was particularly important to the Rangers. It was a marvelous game to watch, with a variety of baseball treats for any fan. The game on paper looked like a pitcher’s duel, as Kevin Millwood (2.64) and Jered Weaver (2.65), fifth and sixth in ERA, faced off. The game was such a duel for five innings, as both pitchers were magnificent. Texas scratched out two runs in the fourth, and that was all the scoring until the sixth. The game-time temperature was 98, and Weaver fell victim to the heat first. He recorded just one out in the sixth, and was charged with seven earned runs when he left. (His ERA zoomed up to 3.10.) Millwood apparently had his ninth win in the bag as he took a 7-1 lead into the seventh, but he fell victim to the heat too. He struggled before being lifted with just one out in the seventh, allowing three more earned runs. (His ERA moved up to 2.80, still fifth in the league.) It was Millwood’s fifth of 17 seventeen starts this season that was not a quality start.
C. J. Wilson struck out the side in the eighth, so the Rangers still led 7-4 going into the ninth. Frank Francisco came on to close the game, his first ninth inning appearance since returning from the disabled list. It was obvious from the beginning that he had command problems. Thanks to an egregious base running error by Chone Figgins, Francisco was one out away from the save though, when Juan Rivera homered to tie the game. Millwood’s win was out the window, the second time this season that he’s pitched at least six innings, departed with a three-run lead or better, and taken a no-decision. With a little run support in two other starts in which he allowed four earned runs, while the Rangers scored just one, he would be 12-3 instead of 8-5. Texas was however able to put the disappointment of seeing the win slip away in the ninth, and rallied on the wings of a two-out Hank Blalock walk-off home run in the bottom half to win the series.
Tampa Bay comes to Arlington this weekend, the Tampa Bay that had a seven-game winning streak stopped earlier this week. After the Rays, Texas concludes the first half of the season with a seven-game road trip to divisional foes Los Angeles and Seattle. Ranger fans hope the June offensive swoon is over, as the team has scored 18 runs the last two nights and has scored at least nine runs in four of their last six games. With 10 games until the All-Star break, Texas is just one-half game out of first place in the West. When the season began, such a standing in July was a dream on par with winning the lottery. If the final three months of the season are as successful as the first three, Ranger fans have a lot of fun in store this summer.
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By: Richard W. Humphrey
MLBcenter.com Texas Rangers Correspondent
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