Meatloaf was onto something. Two of three ain't bad. It ain't that exciting either.
The Rangers have won seven straight series now.
I read that back and it should be a pretty exciting statement. But dropping the third game of a series is a bit disappointing, I guess.
Let me try again. Once more with feeling.
The Rangers have won seven straight series now!
That's better.
Even though I'm still anxiously awaiting a series sweep, I'm loving the way the Rangers are rolling right now. Their pitching has been solid, the hits have fallen in (or gone out) and the defense has been much less error-ridden. All of this happened just in time to take down the Royals, the As, the Mariners, the As again, the Mariners again and then interstate rivals the Astros.
The Rangers pounded out the home runs in the first two games of the series, but had a hard time hitting anything today. Brandon Backe, who came into the game 2-5, shut the Texas batters down for six innings. His groove was broken in the 7th when Michael Young belted a one-out single. Then Milton Bradley and David Murphy came up for back-to-back homers. The Astros changed pitchers, calling for former Ranger Doug Brocail, which seemed to do the trick. Laird flied out and Boggs grounded out to end the rally. The Astros' five-run lead had been quickly narrowed to 5-3. The Rangers managed to get one more run in the 8th when Catalanotto doubled in Ian Kinsler but could not score any in the 9th as Valverde struck out the side, allowing just a single to Laird.
KISS: Josh Rupe and Jamey Wright. The duo came in and combined for three scoreless innings and a pair of strike outs. They gave their teammates the chance to rally.
MISS: Kinsler's decision to try for home when Young popped up to the short stop in the bottom of the fourth. Instead of one out with runners at first and third, it set up two outs with a runner at first.
Now, the Rangers head out on a tough roadtrip -- four in Minnesota, three in Cleveland and three more in Tampa Bay. That last series looks like the toughest, but the AL Central is hard to judge right now. All of the teams, save the Tigers, are hovering around .500. The Rangers, themselves, continue to flirt with .500, but haven't managed to surge ahead for more than one day. But, if they keep winning two out of three, they'll be on their way soon.
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It was actually a relief in a small way for me to see us fall short of the sweep again. It's probably just superstition, but I can't help but feel like as soon as we register our first sweep this year, this incredible hot streak will come to an end.
Again, just a silly superstition on my part, but having watched this team for a few years now, I can't help but feel that way somewhat. Wierd.
This road trip is gonna be a tough one - 10 straight road games. I'm not sure how the Twins are playing right now, but we managed to take care of them last time. The Indians have been in a horrible funk so far this year though, so it's the Tampa Bay Rays I'm most worried about in this road trip. That's a great young team right there - the type of team I hope the Rangers will look like in another 1-2 years.
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