Monday
Mar022009
Rangers Gameday: 3/2 Vs. CLE
Joey MatschulatMonday, March 2nd Game Preview
Texas Rangers (2-3-0) vs. Cleveland Indians (2-3-0)
Matt Harrison (0-0, 36.00 ERA) vs. Aaron Laffey (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
2:05 p.m. CST in Goodyear, Arizona (Goodyear Ballpark)
TV: - - - | Radio: MLB.com Webcast
| Rangers |
Indians |
||
| Position | Player | Position | Player |
| 2B |
Ian Kinsler |
CF |
Michael Brantley |
| SS |
Omar Vizquel |
2B |
Asdrubal Cabrera |
| 3B |
Michael Young |
LF |
Ben Francisco |
| CF |
Andruw Jones |
DH |
Kelly Shoppach |
| DH |
Hank Blalock |
1B |
Beau Mills |
| RF |
Marlon Byrd |
RF |
Matt LaPorta |
| LF |
David Murphy |
3B |
Wes Hodges |
| 1B |
Chris Davis |
C |
Chris Giminez |
| C |
Jarrod Saltalamacchia |
SS |
Wilson Valdez |
Notes: More to follow.
Reader Comments (28)
David Murphy just socked a two-run double to the wall to make it 2-0 Texas in the top of the second inning...
And Chris Davis just smashed a liner off the second base umpire for a base hit...
Now a Saltalamacchia single/throwing error scores David Murphy from second base to make it 3-0...
Harrison works around a Beau Mills base hit for his second scoreless inning of work...
Very interested in hearing how Andruw responds to the first tough fly ball/liner hit in his general direction out in CF...
And down goes Andruw on a swinging strikeout...harumph...
Thanks for the updates, Joey. No game on any radio - so it's all you!
Salty just smashed what the Indians guys described as a "398-foot" hit for a three-run double...7-0 Texas...
Joey: What's your take on MY batting third?
Rob: How do you mean? I don't think Washington's mad scientist spring lineups are at all indicative of what he plans to do during the regular season if that's what you mean...I will say that if Murphy were to make legitimate strides in the plate patience department and significantly upped his walk rate while maintaining his solid batting average against RHP, he might make some sense in the No. 2 hole ahead of Young, with Hamilton/Blalock/Cruz behind him, but that's probably a pretty significant stretch at this point...
And Thomas Diamond is now on for Texas...I doubt Cleveland's radio guys will note anything specific about him, but we'll see...
Well, Diamond is evidently flashing his customary strong change-up, but so far it's been walk-triple-walk, and now Mike Maddux is visiting him on the mound...
Who's Brandon Laffey? Aaron change his name?
Make it walk-triple-walk-single-single-single...Diamond has faced six batters and has not retired a single one yet...
Tex: Apparently so. I don't know why I placed blind faith in MLB's press notes...
Nice work, MLB.
I wish now, more than ever that the Rangers had traded Diamond instead of Danks or Volquez. They kept the wrong member of the DVD gang.
And Diamond is finally yanked after recording a strikeout/popout, but then walking in a run...I imagine the Rangers would have really liked to have seen him finish that inning...
I'm banking a lot on Jones resurrecting his career this season.
Joey - Who else has pitched besides MH and TD, and how did they look?
Joey: I think RW's lineups so far this spring are representative of what he will do during the season. If Hamilton is not is the lineup I think he intends to bat MY third.
Wow, the Rangers hit out of order. That's embarrassing.
Sorry, I think we're on the same wavelength in that respect Rob -- I agree that if Josh is absent from the lineup, Young would probably be his pick for the three-hole (though I'm still not sure who would bat second if Hamilton went down for an extended period of time, and in practice pushing everybody up one spot in the batting order might make more sense)...I would certainly hope Washington wouldn't push Andrus up into the two-hole if that were to happen, however...
Brian: Lizard and Madrigal have also pitched -- both were solid. Rupe's on right now.
So does that make Andruw 1 for 10 with 9 strikeouts this spring? Yikes!
Phoenix: Andruw's now 2-for-13 with nine strikeouts.
German Duran takes first base on an HBP, but is gunned down at second base attempting to steal second base...time for the bottom of the ninth...
And Omar Poveda takes the Indians down to their final out...
Well, a monster two-run homer from Jordan Brown slashes the Rangers' lead to 8-7...
And Poveda picks up the strikeout to end it...Texas wins, 8-7...
8-7.
How many games are we going to see this season with that score? Plenty.