ON THE MOUND
Kuma posted one of his strongest outings in quite some time and, considering the competition and the venue, that’s really saying something. While the number of walks were rather uncharacteristic, the few hits were scattered and ~thanks in large part to the play shown below~ things never got out of hand.
SEVEN innings ~ FOUR hits ~ ONE earned run ~ THREE walks ~ EIGHT strikeouts
The 8th inning relief effort was’t exactly “clean” but, desired end result achieved = ZERO runs scored
} Ollie, really struggling since the break (coming back down to earth?) was unable to record an out (a walk and a HBP),
} Yoervis came in gave up a sac bunt and loaded the bases with an IBB to Beltre
} Charlie came in and got Pierzynski to pop up for the third out
} Great to see The Lord back up on his steed after being tossed pretty roughly in his last outing that resulted in his first blown save. This time 1-2-3 = 6th save
AT THE PLATE
FOUR runs, but TWO homers . . .
And, their first hit didn’t happen until Justin singled in the 5th. Apparently, Kyle wasn’t aware of the actual severity of his current slump going into this game (a career high 0-21) but, he was fully aware of his career success at The Ballpark in Arlington. Everyone else was reminded in the 8th inning when Kyle launched a TWO-run shot that gave the M’s the 2-1 lead. Justin provided some insurance with a solo shot in the 9th
IN THE FIELD
The play of the game, as it turns out, was in the bottom of the 1st . . . .
it saved a run and potentially Kuma’s bacon (as, you never know what would have happened had the Rangers scored at that point)
tweet of the game . . .
Compass Rosy 