A seven-run inning takes a bunch of pressure off. Kirkman wasn't sharp, but got the job done to put it into the W column. Now it would help if the Orioles can take care of Oakland.
Yep. That 7-run inning couldn't have come at a better time. It'd be nice to another game like this one tomorrow. In the meantime, c'mon O's.
Such much for the help from Baltimore. Rangers need to keep the pressure on by winning the games left on the homestand. Tomorrow night (with Feldman on the mound) is the one that worries me the most.
Hard to believe there could be even a whisper of comments re: use of Nathan. I"ll take the Manager and the Closer that can go 5 (!) months without a BS.
6 runs in 3 innings pitching against the team with the worst batting average in all of baseball.
I seen all that I need to see of Feldman as a starter. Problem is, there are no real alternatives until the post-season (assuming the Rangers can hold on to a spot) when Wash can shorten the rotation.
Rangers ought to be shelling this Mariners pitcher. He's already thrown 61 pitches thru 3 innings (half strikes and half balls), but Texas only has 2 hits and 1 run to show for it. Gonna take a big rally to pull this one out of the fire.
Well, Rangers rally to tie at 6 before Tanner Scheppers (another guy I've seen enough of) gives up an 8th inning solo HR to Smoak, a dude who is hitting .190 or so, and Ogando gives up a run-scoring single to Smoak in the 9th. Rangers lose 8-6. Ridiculous.
Meanwhile, the A's have defeated the Orioles 5-2. The magic number stays at 16 and the Rangers lead now down to 2 games. Their division lead hasn't been this slim since mid-April.
agree about Feldman. It's time for Perez to start. Some radio guys wanted Perez to start a few days ago.
I just saw a graphic that says Oakland is 23-6 since August something.
I thought the A's would run out of gas at some point, but now I'm not counting on that at all. I think the only question now is will the Rangers be even with the A's when the four game series starts with the A's.
I think that is a realistic goal, to be tied with Oakland when the series starts. Win 3 of four from the A's at home, and then it all comes down to the last series in Oakland. We could have a tie. Anybody know the tie breaker?
Totally agree that Feldman has got to sit, basically that has become a guaranteed early deficit. I am not sure the A's cool off either, 92 wins would have been enough against the Angels but it is going to take 95-96 wins to beat these A's.
TIebreaker is a one-game playoff. At this point, the loser would then proceed to a one-game Wild Card playoff. Yikes. If R's won both those games theyd start ALDS with their 3rd Starter, presumably. Which I consider our 4 starters to all be interchangeable pretty much, no clearcut #1 or 2.
BUT, I ain't ready to get that dire yet. Let's get this ship righted and win today.
Be good to see our w/l record when the 5th guy starts, vs the 1st 4. That should ease everyone's fears knowing that the next 4 games are all 'good' guys!
wow, the A's prove they are human, but just barely. Now, if the Tigers and the Yankees do their jobs, and win their series against the A's, this thing could end at home.
Doing the math, if the A's lose 4 of the next 6 with the Tigers and Yanks, that's 4, + then assuming the Rangers can win 4 of their next 6, that's a total of 8, when you add the four + four. subtract 8 from 14 and the magic number would be 6.
Then the Rangers win 3 of four from the A's at home, and that's another 6, so that ends it right there.
I never thought I would be this big of a Yankees fan. The yanks could do us an even bigger service if they could somehow sweep the A's.
Harrison with the huge effort and the bullpen will now be fully rested and available in Anaheim.
Rangers go 4-2 on the homestand which was what they had to do. Really should have been 5-1 and could easily have been 6-0 when look at fact that in both games Rangers were tied going into the 8th innning and in one had 2 run lead into the 9th.
16 games left and .500 record gets the Rangers to 95 wins. If they do that then the A's have to go 11-5 to catch them. Sadly that is about the pace Oakland is on so Rangers really need to go 9-7 or better to feel like they will be assured of the west title. Whoever wins the west will have the best record on the AL and second place will be in the wildcard playoff most likely as the host.
The next 6 are on the road at the Angels for three and then up to Seattle for 3. Meanwhile the A's travel to Detroit for three then the Yankees for three. You have to believe the A's will struggle to go better than 3-3 on their road trip so the Rangers must go a minimum of 3-3 on the trip and 4-2 would be better as it might pick up a game in the standings before the huge 4 game series with Oakland in Arlington that starts on the 24th.
IMHO the Rangers need to go 4-2 (or better) on this road trip to be characterized as a success, which might be a somewhat difficult task since it looks like the Angels will send out their top 3 pitchers (Weaver, CJ, and Greinke). A's have proven to be a good road team lately, and I see no reason why that won't change this time around. It wouldn't surprise me to see them go 4-2 as well, though I certainly hope they drop both series since a run through Detroit and NY is no easy task.
Perez will now start in place of Feldman on Friday in Seattle and barring a collapse also replace him against Oakland on the 26th and again on October 1. Pitching is in place for the road trip with Dempster, Holland and Darvish in Anaheim followed by Harrison and then Dempster again.
For the bog Oakland series the tentative starters will be Holland, Darvish, Perez and Harrison.
Wash gave Feldman plenty of rope... perhaps too much. It is past time for him to go to the pen and let's give Perez a chance in the rotation.... hell, he cannot do any worse than Feldman has the past 6 games. While we are at it, can we also send Kirkman down to the minors?
Don't think they can do without Kirkman until Ross is fully ready to go - really need at least one southpaw in the bullpen. And I fully concur with starting Perez in place of Feldman - Scott had a good stretch, but he is on a downer now, with no reason to hope he can turn it around. In the bullpen, he can be used as a long man, if needed.
It would be terrific to see the Tigers sweep the A's - the Tigers are fighting for their playoff spot, too.
agree on Perez, give him a chance. Feldman looks like a guy that may not get on the 25 man playoff roster. After pitching well when we really needed him to be good when the bats were silent, he's been hit hard.
Feldman I blv has a club option in 2013 on that big contract. He likely pitched his way out of it if (a) Perz comes thru, or (b) Ross doesn't have an injury the staff deems as being a long term concern
Gather round the TV and cheer hard for our Rangers tonight. Game in Anaheim starts at 9:05 CDT. Pitching matchup is Weaver and Dempster. This would be a huge win for the Rangers - the A's are in Detroit, and in the top of the eighth with Detroit leading 8-2.
Dang it. Dempster blows a 3-1 lead and allows the Angels to tie it at 3. Then Scheppers comes in and pours fuel on the fire by hitting the first batter he faces to load the bases and then throws a wild pitch to score 2 more (with an assist to Napoli on a throwing error). Angels score 4 in the bottom of the 4th to take a 5-3 lead. Scheppers is pulled with an apparent injury and Lowe (another fire starter) is brought in as the Angels are still batting in the 4th.
Good thing the A's lost because it's going to be a long night. Y'all need to carry on without me as I turn in and try to dream about a miracle rally. I wasn't expecting to get a W against Weaver tonight, but if I watch anymore of this train wreck I'm going to really be ticked.