Put Your Hands Up, The Rangers Are In Town - A MLB 09 'Chise

[Scott]

GAME 1 OF 4

Texas (7-8, L4) vs. Baltimore (3-13, L1)

STARTING PITCHERS

Kevin Millwood (1-1, 1.71 ERA, 20 K) vs. Koji Uehara (0-2, 9.95 ERA, 11 K)

Team Matchup
20th AVG 21st
t-25th HR t-3rd
t-23rd R 14th
15th ERA 29th

Preview: After losing 4 straight to open the season, the Rangers had a nice little 7 game win streak before hitting a road block in Toronto. They look to get back on track against Baltimore, who is looking for revenge against Texas who swept them in Arlington April 13th-15th. The bad news for Baltimore is they'll be facing Millwood, Padilla & McCarthy, the Rangers best three pitchers while the Orioles will have Uehara, Hendrickson & Hill (a combined 0-7, 9.04 ERA) .

Ian Kinsler continues to struggle who is just 5 for his last 31, he could be dropped from the top of the order to #2 and allow Michael Young (who at least has a .290 OBP) or David Murphy (.303 OBP, if he's in the lineup). The two people hitting has been Andruw Jones (.385) & Josh Hamilton (.328). Hamilton has raised his average from .280 to .328 in the past 3 games.

[Scott]

Rangers lose game on controversial call

[font=Arial Narrow] Now the Rangers will not blame the guys in blue on this game, but they sure did play a crucial part. Andruw Jones, whos playing time is going to be limited in the next few days, provided a solo Home Run to left field, his 1st of the year in the 2nd inning to give Millwood an early 1-0 lead. Baltimore would come back in the bottom of the 3rd with an RBI single by Nick Markakis scoring Brian Roberts. In the bottom of the 6th is when the Orioles offense really got rollin. Scoring 5 runs on an 2 run single by Pie & 3 run HR by Ty Wigginton. Texas would answer with 4 in the 7th off a 3 run homer by David Murphy, his 1st on the year and an RBI single by Ian Kinsler, who is desperately trying to break out of a huge slump. Now for the controversy.... Chris Davis comes in to pinch hit for rookie OF Greg Golson, who entered the game for ejected OF Marlon Byrd. Davis hits a grounder to Mora, who overthrows the bag and it goes into the stands. Now Vizquel comes into the game to run for Davis at 2nd for some extra speed. Single to right field by Murphy, Vizquel rounds third and he's called.....








OUT? As you can see, he is blatantly safe, the Rangers will have revenge.

Andruw Knows It's Gone

Texas 5, Baltimore 6
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E TEX (7-8) 0 1 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 5 5 1 BAL (3-13) 0 0 1 0 0 5 0 0 X 6 11 2	April 24, 2009 Camden Yards Baltimore, MD
WIN: Uehara (1-2) LOSS: Millwood (1-2) SAVE: Sherrill (3)

Texas Rangers Hitters AB R H BI AVG Kinsler 2B 4 0 1 1 .204 Young 3B 4 0 0 0 .254 Hamilton DH 4 0 0 0 .308 Jones CF 4 1 1 1 .372 Blalock 1B 3 1 0 0 .268 Byrd RF 2 0 0 0 .240 Golson RF 0 1 0 0 .333 Davis PH 1 0 0 0 .235 1-Vizquel, PR 0 0 0 0 .000 Murphy LF 3 1 3 3 .281 Saltalamacchia C 4 0 0 0 .234 Andrus SS 3 1 0 0 .173 TEX TOTALS 32 5 5 5 BATTING HR: A. Jones (1), D. Murphy (1) RBI: I. Kinsler (3), A. Jones (4), D. Murphy 3 (4) HBP: G. Golson, H. Blalock BASERUNNING CS: I. Kinsler (2) FIELDING E: E. Andrus (3) Pitchers IP H R ER ERA K. Millwood L, 1-2 5.1 9 6 6 3.42 J. Rupe 0.2 0 0 0 1.13 D. Nippert 2.0 2 0 0 4.50 TEX TOTALS 8.0 11 6 6 PITCHING Strikeouts: K. Millwood (2), J. Rupe (1), D. Nippert (2) WP: K. Millwood (2)

Baltimore Orioles Hitters AB R H BI AVG Roberts 2B 4 1 2 0 .288 Jones CF 3 0 1 0 .238 Markakis RF 4 0 1 1 .344 Huff 1B 4 1 1 0 .349 Mora 3B 4 1 2 0 .234 Zaun C 3 1 2 0 .333 Pie LF 4 1 1 2 .153 Wigginton DH 4 1 1 3 .368 Izturis SS 4 0 0 0 .098 BAL TOTALS 34 6 11 6 BATTING 2B: A. Huff (4) HR: T. Wigginton (1) RBI: N. Markakis (8), T. Wigginton 3 (4), F. Pie 2 (2) BASERUNNING SB: B. Roberts (4) CS: B. Roberts (1) FIELDING E: M. Mora (1), C. Izturis (2) Pitchers IP H R ER ERA K. Uehara W, 1-2 6.2 4 5 4 8.38 C. Ray H, 2 1.1 0 0 0 5.40 G. Sherrill SV, 3 1.0 1 0 0 2.25 BAL TOTALS 9.0 5 5 4 PITCHING Strikeouts: K. Uehara (8), G. Sherill (1)

Table created by: PUJOLS4MVP

[Scott]

GAME 2 OF 4

Texas (7-9, L5) vs. Baltimore (4-13, W1)

STARTING PITCHERS

Vicente Padilla (1-1, 4.91 ERA) vs. Mark Hendrickson (0-3, 9.45 ERA)

Team Matchup
22nd (.254) AVG 19th (.261)
13 (t-19th) HR 21 (t-4th)
57 (23rd) R 70 (14th)
18th (4.19) ERA 29th (5.76)

Preview: Texas continues to struggle with their bats after getting just 5 hits in their last game, but still managed to score 5 runs, which should have been 6 barring a right call. Padilla sets to face Mark Hendrickson who has struggled so far this year. Nelson Cruz is set to return in a few days, which should help the Rangers offense.

[Marino]

Looked out to me.

[cubsfan203]

Oh wow, sucks that you have to use those ugly batting helmets.

[Brett_OS]

Quote: Originally Posted by marino13882

Looked out to me.

[Scott]

Rangers score early and often

Texas wasted little time before scoring their first runs of the day, and Mark Hendrickson was in for a short outing. Texas scored 3 runs in the 1st off an RBI double for Hamilton & 2-Run RBI double by Andruw Jones. They would tack on a couple more in the 2nd off of a Michael Young home run to left field, just a few feet to the right of the Fair Poul.

However Baltimore would come back with a couple in the bottom of the 2nd on a RBI single by Luke Scott & RBI double by Ty Wigginton, but that's all they could scour off Padilla. Once Hendrickson was out of the game (after 1.2 IP) Alfredo Simon really performed well, going 4.1 IP and not allowing a single hit while striking out 7 in that span.

Ron Washington spoke about him, "his splitter was really hard for us to pick up, and that's what gave us real problems." Baltimore would tack on 1 more run in the 6th to make it a 6-4 ballgame.

Texas came right back in the 7th on a 3 Run-RBI double by Hank Blalock with the bases loaded and 2 outs to give the Rangers a comfortable 9-4 lead. CJ Wilson would come on in the 8th to get a little work, but gave up a solo shot to Mora, but it wouldn't lead to anything else as Texas holds on 9-5 to end their 5 game losing streak.

Play of the Game

Player of the Game

Michael Young

Texas 9, Baltimore 5
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E TEX (7-9) 3 3 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 9 11 1 BAL (4-13) 0 2 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 5 9 3	April 25, 2009 Camden Yards Baltimore, MD
WIN: Padilla (2-1) LOSS: Hendrickson (0-4)

Texas Rangers Hitters AB R H BI AVG Kinsler 2B 5 1 1 0 .203 Young 3B 5 3 2 2 .263 Hamilton CF 5 3 3 1 .329 Jones RF 5 1 3 3 .396 Blalock DH 4 0 1 3 .267 Byrd LF 4 0 0 0 .222 Davis 1B 4 0 0 0 .218 Saltalamacchia C 4 1 1 0 .235 O. Vizquel SS 3 0 0 0 .000 TEX TOTALS 39 9 11 9 BATTING 2B: J. Hamilton 2 (3), H. Blalock (5), A. Jones (4) HR: M. Young (2) RBI: M. Young 2 (7), J. Hamilton (7), H. Blalock 3 (8), A. Jones 3 (7) HBP: O. Vizquel GIDP: C. Davis BASERUNNING CS: J. Hamilton (3) FIELDING E: C. Davis (2) Pitchers IP H R ER ERA V. Padilla W, 2-1 5.1 7 4 4 5.32 E. Guardado H, 3 1.2 1 0 0 1.64 C. Wilson 1.0 1 1 1 3.86 F. Francisco 1.0 0 0 0 1.50 TEX TOTALS 9.0 9 5 5 PITCHING Strikeouts: V. Padilla (4), E. Guardado (2), F. Francisco (1) WP: V. Padilla (1)

Baltimore Orioles Hitters AB R H BI AVG Roberts 2B 5 0 0 0 .269 Jones CF 4 0 0 0 .224 Markakis RF 4 0 0 0 .324 Huff 1B 4 2 2 0 .358 Mora 3B 4 2 3 2 .265 Scott DH 4 1 2 2 .318 Zaun C 4 0 0 0 .308 Wigginton SS 4 0 1 1 .348 Pie LF 4 0 1 0 .159 BAL TOTALS 37 5 9 5 BATTING 2B: A. Huff (5), T. Wigginton (2) HR: M. Mora 2 (4) RBI: M. Mora 2 (8), T. Wigginton (5), L. Scott 2 (8) BASERUNNING FIELDING E: B. Roberts (2), T. Wigginton (2), G. Zaun (1) DP: Wigginton-Roberts-Huff Pitchers IP H R ER ERA M. Hendrickson L, 0-4 1.2 7 6 5 11.40 A. Simon 4.1 0 0 0 3.77 J. Johnson 0.2 2 2 2 5.40 D. Sarfate 1.1 2 1 1 9.35 C. Ray 1.0 0 0 0 4.70 BAL TOTALS 9.0 11 9 8 PITCHING Strikeouts: A. Simon (7), J. Johnson (1), D. Sarfate (1), C. Ray (1)

Table created by: PUJOLS4MVP

[Scott]

GAME 3 OF 4

Texas (8-9, W1) vs. Baltimore (4-14, L1)

STARTING PITCHERS

Kris Benson (0-2, 6.43 ERA) vs. Rich Hill (0-2, 7.71 ERA)
Team Matchup
21st (.256) AVG 19th (.260)
14 (t-22nd) HR 23 (t-5th)
66 (21st) R 75 (t-16th)
20th (4.24) ERA 30th (5.88)

Preview: The Texas bats finally came out to play in the last week, scoring 9 runs including 6 runs in the first two innings. Texas will send Benson on the mound while Baltimore throws out former Cub Rich Hill. One more bad start for Benson could land him in the bullpen in favor of either Feldman or Jennings, or could even land hand him in AAA in favor of Neftali Feliz, who is 1-1 with a 1.65 ERA with quality starts in every start. Feliz has gone 27.1 IP, allowing just 19 hits while striking out 22 and having a 0.77 WHIP,

[Brett_OS]

Poor Rich Hill doesn't know what's coming to him.

[Scott]

Benson Pitches Gem


With all eyes on Kris Benson, he sure came out and pitched wonderfully. Benson went 6 strong innings, while allowing only 4 hits against his former team and picked up his 1st win of the game. Hank Blalock is finally starting to get his offense going, hitting his 1st HR of the Game.

Highlights

Player of the Game


Rangers P Kris Benson

Texas 6, Baltimore 0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E TEX (8-9) 3 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 6 15 0 BAL (4-14) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 1	April 26, 2009 Camden Yards Baltimore, MD
WIN: K. Benson (1-2) LOSS: R. Hill (0-3) SAVE: J. Jennings (1)

Texas Rangers Hitters AB R H BI AVG Kinsler 2B 5 1 2 0 .219 Young 3B 5 1 1 0 .259 Hamilton CF 5 1 3 2 .347 Jones RF 5 1 1 1 .377 Blalock DH 5 1 2 2 .277 Murphy LF 4 0 1 0 .278 Davis 1B 4 1 3 0 .254 Saltalamacchia C 4 0 2 0 .255 Andrus SS 3 0 0 1 .164 TEX TOTALS 40 6 15 6 BATTING 2B: I. Kinsler (3), M. Young (2), C. Davis (2) HR: J. Hamilton (5), H. Blalock (1) RBI: J. Hamilton 2 (9), H. Blalock 2 (10), A. Jones (8), E. Andrus (5) BASERUNNING SB: I. Kinsler (1) CS: E. Andrus (2) FIELDING DP: Young-Kinsler-Davis Pitchers IP H R ER ERA K. Benson W, 1-2 6.0 4 0 0 4.50 J. Jennings SV, 1 3.0 0 0 0 5.19 TEX TOTALS 9 4 0 0 PITCHING Strikeouts: K. Benson (5), J. Jennings (1)

Baltimore Orioles Hitters AB R H BI AVG Roberts 2B 4 0 1 0 .268 Jones CF 4 0 0 0 .211 Markakis RF 4 0 0 0 .306 Huff 1B 4 0 1 0 .352 Mora 3B 3 0 0 0 .254 Scott DH 3 0 0 0 .304 Zaun C 2 0 0 0 .296 Wigginton SS 3 0 1 0 .346 Gathright LF 3 0 1 0 .167 BAL TOTALS 30 0 4 0 BATTING 2B: A. Huff (6) GIDP: A. Jones BASERUNNING FIELDING E: T. Wigginton (3) Pitchers IP H R ER ERA R. Hill L, 0-3 3.0 10 5 5 D. Baez 1.1 2 0 0 J. Johnson 1.2 1 1 1 J. Walker 1.2 1 0 0 C. Ray 1.1 1 0 0 BAL TOTALS 9 15 6 6 PITCHING Strikeouts: R. Hill (3), J. Johnson (2), C. Ray (1)

Table created by: PUJOLS4MVP