Post-Game Show: Mariners 3, Rangers 1

Posted on July 10th, 2009 12:20am by Evan Grant
Filed under AL West race, Baseball, Post-Game Wrap up, Texas Rangers

D-tails
• Boxscore, Standings

Three Up and Three Down from Safeco Field where the Rangers suffered a tough-come-from ahead 3-1 loss to Seattle.

Three Up
• RHP Tommy Hunter was tough, competitive and poised while matched up against King Felix Hernandez. Hunter went six innings and allowed four hits and left without allowing a run.
• 1B Hank Blalock produced a pair of singles in smart at-bats. He has 12 hits in 32 at-bats (.406) over the last eight games, during which he has five extra-base hits and seven RBIs. He’s raised his batting average from .237 to .259.
• Pitching for the third consecutive night, RHP Darren O’Day was efficient and effective. He used just 10 pitches for a 1-2-3 seventh inning that set LHP C.J. Wilson up to face the heavily left-handed top of Seattle’s batting order in the eighth.

Three Down
• LHP C.J. Wilson, absolutely brilliant for the last 10 weeks, allowed his third homer of the season. All three have been extremely painful, resulting in losses at Detroit (in April), at New York (in June) and Friday when Franklin Gutierrez hit a three-run shot with two outs in the eighth.
• 3B Michael Young did not break for home as he should have on a called double steal with two strikes on Andruw Jones in the sixth. With the Rangers trying to steal a run against Felix Hernandez, Young was supposed to break for home as soon as C Rob Johnson cocked his arm for a throw to second. Young hesitated, thinking Johnson was pump-faking, and ended up tagged out at third in an inning-ending rundown.
• The Rangers had been 39-1 when leading games after seven innings this season. This was loss No. 2. Wilson has been the victim in both of those losses.

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12 Comments to “Post-Game Show: Mariners 3, Rangers 1”
  • JustSaying @ July 10th, 2009 at 12:35 am

    as bad as it is right now for cj i wouldn’t shoot him in both knees and both elbows………

  • Rangers Fan @ July 10th, 2009 at 12:42 am

    Glad to have he explanation on the Young caught stealing play. Glad to know Wash will take those kind of chances though.

  • Rangers Fan @ July 10th, 2009 at 12:44 am

    Oh and hopefully this means we start another CJ domination streak like what happened after the NY homerun.

  • Tom B @ July 10th, 2009 at 1:28 am

    28 pitches by CJ was alot. The biggest ? was walking Griffy with his anemic BA. It’s a lot easier looking in the rear view mirror but, in retrospect, you have to wonder about CJ facing a hot RH hitter. I wonder how many first game loses the Rangers have suffered this year and came back to win the series? I can think of two or three. New day tomorrow, we’ll get’m then. I think Andruw was right, He is playing too much.

  • Old Tom @ July 10th, 2009 at 2:30 am

    I thought Griffy looked overmatched by CJ. But you could see CJ taking more and more time, letting the crowd convince him that it was a big face-off. I thought, “oh-oh, he’s overthinking again”. If he had just gone after Griffy the way he’s been doing lately, he would have been fine.
    One more comment: I was green with envy at the way Felix took the ball and went right to the plate. Rangers hitters looked rushed the whole game against him.

  • dooleyindallas @ July 10th, 2009 at 5:23 am

    The ump gave Griffey the walk, not CJ. Still, I would have brought in a right-hander (Frankie, though it wouldve been nice to have still had O’Day to use) to face Gutierrez. CJ was all bowed up and he always overthrows in that situation. Maddux even visited the mound and decided to stick with whatever ninja character CJ thought he was at that moment. Bad coaching. Maddux is allowed one.

  • I'm With Incaviglia @ July 10th, 2009 at 6:10 am

    CJ got pinched on teh Griffey at bat but agree that you have to bring in a righty to face Gutierrez. That one is on Wash.

  • haiku man @ July 10th, 2009 at 6:32 am

    Hunter looking tough
    Hernandez stifles hot bats
    CJ rare mistake

  • Fred @ July 10th, 2009 at 8:49 am

    Hunter mixes his pitches as well as anybody on the staff. Impressive for a kid.

  • 09 is the Year @ July 10th, 2009 at 8:53 am

    Sure would have liked to seen FF up and ready for Guitietez in the 8th. Frankie can get a 4 out save can’t he?

  • David C @ July 10th, 2009 at 9:24 am

    Hunter has done nothing but impress me every time he’s been given the ball so far. Talk about taking your opportunity and running with it, way to go kid.

    I can’t remember, but in his first start didn’t he go up against the other team’s ace, and more than held his own, even though he didn’t get a win?

  • Longhorn Matt @ July 10th, 2009 at 2:10 pm

    Man, Wash can’t win. If Wash had brought in Frankie to try for the four out save, Rangers fans would have been up in arms about Wash over-using Frankie. Instead we get complaints about leaving CJ in. CJ has been lights out, so I have no complaints about leaving him in since I think that Wash does need to be careful with Frankie’s workload for a while. I would rather take my chances with CJ out there instead of risking further DL time for Frankie.