The Depot: Rangers-Mariners Live Game Blog, News, Notes and Flash Flood Advisories

7:22: Hey, what do you know we’re playing. Surprised me. Also, apparently surprised the computer, which gobbled up tonight’s home run pool. I’m blaming it on faulty plumbing.

7:24: First pitch is hit for a double by Ichiro Suzuki. No surprise. He’s now 27-for-66 in his career against Millwood. He has three more hits to go to reach 200.

7:34: Another amateur weather update. It appears that there should be no rain for about an hour or 90 minutes, then light showers for a period of time before it gets heavier. But as long the weather holds up long enough for an official game, the Rangers will have dodged a huge logistical bullet. Then, of course, there is the matter of Sunday when the forecast is better, but still not great.

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Pitching Plans in Place for Postponement

ARLINGTON – Alliteration is fun. But in this case, it’s also practical.

With the chances of playing tonight at less than 50 percent – that’s just a guess from this end, but the forecast hasn’t gotten any better in the last two hours – Rangers manager Ron Washington unveiled his pitching plans in case tonight’s game is rained out. That would give the Rangers three consecutive days off and change around some pitching plans.

Washington said RHPs Kevin Millwood and Tommy Hunter would start the doubleheader on Sunday. Regardless of what happens Sunday, RHP Scott Feldman will pitch Monday because the Rangers want to keep him pitching on regular rest. On Tuesday, the Rangers would go with LHP Derek Holland and RHP Brandon McCarthy would pitch Wednesday, though those two pitchers could be flip-flopped. If the teams do play tonight, the Rangers would need another starter for Wednesday’s series finale against Oakland. Washington indicated RHP Dustin Nippert could step into that spot.

Also another potential scenario emerges to keep all the games in Arlington if tonight’s game is rained out. It’s possible – though it would require the approval of MLB – that Seattle could be held over a day and the Rangers couyld paly a day-night doubleheader against two different teams. The Rangers could play Seattle in the early afternoon and play their regularly-scheduled game against Oakland at 7:05. There is precedent. Cleveland hosted the Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins in such an arrangement in September, 2000.

Rainy Day Rangers Injury News

ARLINGTON - OF Josh Hamilton jangled his limbs freely in the clubhouse Saturday afternoon, then confirmed what seemed evident: the most recent anti-inflammatory injection he received hit the spot.

“It’s night and day,” said Hamilton, who has received three injections of anti-inflammatory medication in an attempt to relieve stiffness associated with a bulging disk that has pinched a nerve. “I had been doing all of my core stabilization work to keep my back strong since I had my back problems years ago, but when I had the abdominal surgery, it weakened my abs and my back ended up with more burden.”

3B Michael Young also reported improvement in his recovery from a significant hamstring injury. More on both players after the jump.

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Rangers Weather Situation: 3:30 Advisory

The most recent hour-by-hour update for Arlington, from the Weather Channel, indicates continued rain all night and into tomorrow. The chance of precipitation in Arlington does not drop below 70 percent until the calendar officially turns to Sunday. It has rained through the night and all day in Arlington varying from light showers to heavy rain. When I walked into the stadium at 3 p.m., it was raining pretty heavily. Right now: A lot of wind is turning the tarp into a tent, but the rain has slowed. There is no standing water in the outfield, as was the case when I left last night. But the team can’t do anything to the infield until the rain slows even more or stops entirely.

There does appear to be a gap between the current line of showers and the next line, but what the Rangers have seen happen since last night is, that as the weather system continues to spin up out of the Gulf of Mexico, bands of showers pop up to fill in those “windows.”

Gosh, I love talking like a meteorologist. But the Weather Channel regional forecast, does a much better job of using terms like “trough,” “low-pressure” and “front,” than I do. Suffice to say, playing a game tonight is iffy. But the Rangers will do whatever they can to try and salvage tonight, if at all possible.

The Back Story: The Issues Involved in Rangers Rain Delay, Postponement and Rescheduling

The Rangers didn’t throw a pitch Friday. It didn’t stop them from employing a game’s worth of strategy, however.

Dealing with a rain delay – and ultimately a postponement – this late in the season is no easy task.

There were so many factors to consider on Friday night, perhaps the least of which was a radar screen decorated with Christmas colors (green for light showers, red for heavier storms). When the rain started falling at about 6:30, a half-hour before the Rangers and Mariners were scheduled to play the first of three games over the weekend, the radar showed a system moving in an unusual direction. Rain was approaching Arlington from the Southeast in an arcing pattern coming up from the Gulf of Mexico. Typically, rain approaches the park from the West. Behind the line of showers, there appeared to be a significant span of clear weather, at least enough to play five innings. So the Rangers decided to wait.

Well, it’s not like they had any other attractive options.

That’s because of the other factors. To wit:

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Race Day: Looking at the A.L. Playoff Races

About the Wild Card Race

Boston: Red Sox management indicated it thought the Friday night forecast showed enough time to get in at least five innings for the series opener against Tampa Bay. Instead, the game was halted after only 12 minutes and postponed following a rain delay of 2:20. The game will be played Sunday as part of a day-night doubleheader with both pitchers – Boston LHP Jon Lester (12-7, 3.44) and Rays RHP James Shields (9-10, 4.02) – pitching in the second game.

Saturday night’s game will feature its regularly scheduled starters. Boston RHP Josh Beckett (14-6, 3.87) will go for his first win since Aug. 12. Last time out, he allowed three runs in seven innings against Chicago and took the loss. In four career starts against the Rays, he’s 1-1 with a 5.70 ERA with 32 strikeouts and nine walks. Rays rookie RHP Wade Davis (0-0, 1.29), a third-round draft pick in 2004, made his major league debut last weekend against Detroit. He struck out the first four batters that he faced. He went seven innings, giving up a run on three hits with nine total strikeouts.

RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka will start Tuesday night against the Angels in the series opener. That will be his first Red Sox start since June 18.

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