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Game Report: Rangers 7, Cubs 2

Posted on March 8th, 2009 6:59pm by Evan Grant
Filed under Game Recap, Texas Rangers

OF Marlon Byrd, struggling to find his swing after offseason knee surgery, snapped a 2-for-16 (.125) stretch with a two-out, eighth-inning single that broke a 2-2 tie Sunday afternoon in Mesa, Ariz. Byrd’s single followed a pair of walks by INF Omar Vizquel and OF Greg Golson. Golson hit a grand slam in the ninth to give the Rangers a little more cushion. The Rangers have won five of their last six.

The good: OF David Murphy had hits against left-handed starters in each of the past two games. The Rangers intend for Murphy to be their regular left fielder, but how much he gets to play against lefties will depend on how well he hits against them. Last year, he hit .258 and came precariously close to falling into a platoon situation before a knee injury in August ended his season. Murphy is trying to do a better job of recognizing and dealing with sliders that run away from him.

The bad: In the sixth and seventh innings, the Rangers sent seven batters to the plate and six struck out. The Rangers ended with 10 strikeouts Sunday and have whiffed 86 times in 11 exhibitions this spring. That’s the highest total in the majors.

The gross: As I was chatting with Michael Young on the field about 40 minutes before the game, a fan yelled down to request a piece of his equipment. She wanted his cup. I’m not making that up. She asked twice. Just for the record, her request was not granted.

7 Comments to “Game Report: Rangers 7, Cubs 2”

Rich @ March 8th, 2009 at 7:10 pm

Nice to see you here Evan. Missed hearing you on with Charlie Steiner on his (used to be) show on XM Home Plate. Maybe some of the new guys will invite you on from time to time.
TexasMade @ March 8th, 2009 at 7:13 pm

Have they released the HD schedule for the Rangers yet?
Jack @ March 8th, 2009 at 8:05 pm

Is Elvis Andrus going to start the season in the minor leagues for contractural reasons?
Kaisersoze @ March 8th, 2009 at 8:19 pm

Just for the record, I didn’t give her my cup either.
rob m. @ March 8th, 2009 at 8:38 pm

EG: Was Holland pulled becuase of pitch count or due to his getting into a little trouble in the ninth?
Evan Grant @ March 8th, 2009 at 8:41 pm

@rob m.: Holland was within five pitches of his 50-pitch limit. But I think you’d also be safe to assume the Rangers didn’t want another solid outing to get wasted. Holland is building confidence. No reason to destroy it.
texaslifter @ March 8th, 2009 at 9:28 pm

The Rangers have not had this level of depth at the major league level in many years. When injuries derail a couple of expected contenders, the Rangers will be in prime position to either challenge them or trade with them or perhaps both!