Nick Tepesch had about as good a debut as he could ask for. Four hits, one run, and a win. Oh, he also pitched into the eighth inning. My take on him: he looked nervous at first, but after he settled in he looked poised and totally in control. He looked like he had done that before. I don’t think we can take one start and decide that Tepesch is now the Ace of the staff or anything, but I am ready to see him pitch again and see if he can come close to repeating that start. As all of you know, we are in need of some consistent pitching right now. With the Yu Darvish blister issue and the Matt Harrison back issue, the immediate future of the rotation is a little shaker. If Ogando, Holland and Tepesch can do their thing, the Rangers will be alright for now. The Rangers are saying that Darvish will make his next start, but I am not sure about that.
The Rangers also had a huge game from Leyons Martin last night, getting on base almost every time he was up and scoring almost every time as well. The problem is that Craig Gentry came in as a pinch runner and basically stole a run. I am lying about that being a problem, by the way. As long as it works, the competition between Martin and Gentry seems to be motivating both of them to play at a different level. And that is a good thing. Speaking of a good thing, Lance Berkman is an unstoppable force right now. I don’t expect this to last a full season, but I am sure going to sit back and enjoy his streak while it lasts.
This team is hitting on almost cylinders right now and how now won three series in a row. Today they go for their first sweep and then it is time to go on the road to Seattle and Chicago to play the Cubbies. I will be interested to see how they do away from Arlington for the first time on an extended basis this season. Enjoy today’s game if you can!
