Sponsored Links
First of all, wow Derek Holland! What a great performance by him in last nights game against the Royals. He pitched into the 9th inning and gave way to Neftali Feliz to finish the game out, and, yikes, for the second day in a row, Nefti was not able to close the game out. I did not understand why Feliz was only throwing fastballs lats night, he has more pitches, and it would have been wise for him to use some of those pitches.
But, lets get on to the real deal. Interleague play officially starts tonight. And the Rangers first opponent is a big one. The Phillies. In case you live under a rock, or like to watch “The Rock”, or maybe are a fan of “Third Rock from the Sun”, the Phillies have a really, really good pitching rotation, and the Rangers are not exactly smoking the ball right now. This has a chance to be a 1-0 game every night of the trip. I do not think it will be, but it has that chance. Lets look into it, shall we?
Friday, Mat 20, 2011 – C.J. Wilson (4-2, 3.38 ERA) v Roy Halladay (5-3, 2.21 ERA)
Yep, Halladay. He is a tough person to beat, and he is really tough at home. The Rangers better find some bats on the plane coming into this game tonight, or they could be in trouble. C.J. has not had his best stuff the last few games. If he does not have his best stuff tonight, this game could get ugly. The Rangers have not had a real tendency to strike out this season, but that could also change tonight. I hope it goes the other way and the Rangers tag him early for some runs. I also hope C.J. brings his A game tonight, which I think he will pitching in front of his old buddy, Cliff Lee. I still say the Phils take this one, 5-2.
Saturday, May 21, 2011 – Colby Lewis (4-4, 3.81 ERA) v Cliff Lee (2-4, 3.84 ERA)
Well, well, hello our old friend. It is good to see you again. The last few years, the Rangers have had success against Lee, and I hope that stays the same Saturday. The Rangers, of course had Cliff Lee last season in their playoff run, but Colby Lewis was the real story of the post season. And Colby is a lot better right now than his record and ERA shows. His last few starts have been good, and his last start was a shutout. Look for Colby to dominate the Phillies and win this game for the Rangers. I would not expect another shutout, but I say 7-3 Rangers.
Sunday, May 22, 2011 – Matt Harrison (3-4, 4.27 ERA) v Roy Oswalt (3-1, 3.09 ERA)
I expect Harrison to have another good outing, but I think Oswalt will be to much for the Rangers hitters. Unless they find some stick this weekend, I am afraid that they will lose 2 out of 3 to the boys from Philly, and I think Oswalt wins this game 8-2.
the Rangers are struggling right now on defense and at the plate, but that happens when you have all 3 starting outfielders on the DL, and then one of your backups (Endy Chavez) leaves last nights game with an injury. They had Blanco playing outfield for the first time in his career. When Josh and Nelly get back, I hope that changes.
