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Okay, so the Rangers were 8-10 at this point last season, and they are 11-7 now. They are better than they were 1 year ago. They may have just gone through a rather bad streak, but they still are just one game behind the Angels. And they have the Royals coming up. Now, we here at the Ranger Report do not take any team for granite, but the Rangers usually play well against the Royals, and, in case you forgot, the Royals traded away Zack Greinke. So, how will the Ranger fair. I will give my opinion, why don’t you also give yours?
Friday, April 22, 2011 – J. Francis (0-1, 3.00 ERA) v. D. Holland (2-1, 3.66 ERA)
Holland allowed 5 runs in his last outing, lasting 7 and 2/3 innings. He was facing the Yankees, not the Royals. I look for Holland to get back on track with his great pitching in this series. I do not think the way Holland started the season was a fluke, I think he really is that good. I believe that Holland will have a good amount of strikeouts in this game.
Francis has pitched alright so far this season with a 3 ERA in 4 starts. The Royals, as usual have trouble scoring runs. If he can use a slider or a sinker in this game, he will have a good chance the way the Rangers are not swinging the bats right now. If he uses his fastball more, look for the Rangers to tee off on him.
Prediction: Rangers 8-4
Saturday April 23, 2011 – K. Davies (1-1, 7.20 ERA) v A. Ogando (2-0, 2.33 ERA)
Davies has a high ERA this season, but that is not his problem facing the Rangers. His career record against the Rangers is 0-4, and he has a career 6.38 ERA. That is good news for a team who needs to get their offense back on track. The Rangers should be able to hit Davies with ease, but, that seems to be when the Rangers like to fail lately.
Alexi pitched alright in his last start, even though he gave up 3 home runs. He faced off against a Yankee team that hits homeruns like Jack Cust strikeouts. Alexi left the game in a tie, and wound up with a no decision in the Rangers loss. The Royals are not going to blast a lot of homeruns off Ogando, and I predict that the Rangers will blank the Royals in this one.
Prediction: Rangers 7-0
Sunday, April 24, 2011 – B. Chen (3-0, 2.42 ERA) v C. Wilson (2-0, 3.08 ERA)
Now, I mentioned earlier that the Royals no longer have Greinke, but they do have Bruce Chen. Now I know some of you ( Not @ActheStud or @RANGERTEAM) will say, “Bruce Chen, why do I care about Bruce Chen?” Well, let me tell you why. Chen has won 7 straight games going back to last season, and as you see his ERA is very low this season. The Rangers seem to be having trouble against good pitching right now (Sabithia, Weaver). If he is on top of his game, runs will be at a premium.
C.J. is also having a good season, but not as good as he wants. His last start was great, and if he builds on it, this could also be a very low scoring game. C.J. had a ton of strikeouts and a lot of ground balls in his last outing, and I look for him to be the same here. The pitcher or team that makes the first mistake will be the one to lose this game. I am not sure who it will be, but…
Prediction: Royals – 3-1
Don’t forget, the Rangers bullpen is in a bit of trouble right now, and I will write about the pen soon, so, check back often.
And don’t forget, tomorrow at 5 pm ct. We will air our interview with Darren Oliver. You won’t want to miss it!
Game 1 KC at TEX (Francis vs Holland)
I haven’t seen Francis pitch this year but the Rangers have been bad the last 10 games so don’t know what to expect. I feel like Cruz is pulling off all pitches, Kinsler is trying to pull and put everything in the air, Beltre is swinging for HR everytime (he has hit much better lately), Napoli we haven’t seen much from since 1st 6 games, Murph/Borbon/Torrealba seem to get on base when it doesn’t matter, MY’s kryptonite is sliders/curve balls/off speed going away from him, and Andrus I think is very close to having a big 2-3 weeks. I am going to say the Rangers with the off day, Royals in town, and in front of the home weekend crowd are going to have a big day and weekend.
I am going to say Rangers 9-Royals 5 with the pen giving up 4 runs in the 7th and 8th innings. Team effort tonight with 4-5 guys getting 2 hits.
Game 2 KC at TEX (Davies vs Ogando)
I think being patient at the plate, working the count, and playing 80s small ball will knock DAvies out of the game fast. Ogando needs to trust his secondary pitches to set up his electric fast ball. If Ogando can’t trust or use the secondary pitches then it will be a short night for him (and I probably will have thrown my TV through the wall by then) and will have a nice night of Bush/Tomko/O’Day b/c of the score.
Rangers 7-2
Game 3: KC at TEX (Chen vs Wilson)
I hate these crafty Tom Glavine like pitchers when it comes to the Rangers. They always seem to make them a pull, unpatient team that tries to hit HRs and roll over and have alot of weak hit ground balls. I hope they can stay patient, play opposite field baseball, and don’t run into outs on the path. Chen is very hittable with stuff that puts you to sleep not blows you away. I am excited to see Napoli at DH, MY at 1st so that we can get as many RH batters in there.
Rangers 4-3
Yes I went to the sweep. Wishful thinking maybe but this is our damn house and we need to dominate this shit! I don’t think 3-0 weekend isn’t out of the question.
Keys to the weekend:
1. Kinsler and Andrus get going!
2. Murph, Borbon, Moreland don’t look lost against LHPs.
3. O’Day to get his head out of his ass and pitch ground balls again.
4. SPs pitch 6-7 innings to help take the load off of Strop/Oliver/Rhodes and them coming to save the day every night.
5. Get Feliz a lead so he can get consistent work this weekend.
6. To get the Boomstick going again.
7. Get the crowd excited and into the game!
Questions for the near future:
1. How long do you let Borbon suck at the plate? His defense has been better considering other options but can’t have a hole in the lineup (aka NL pitcher hole-like).
2. Do you continue to hit Kinsler 1, Andrus 2 if they continue to struggle?
3. How many HRs will MY hit this year? Already at 9 doubles but 0 HRs (yes he was robbed at Detroit, hit double at Yankee stadium that hit off centerfield wall) so is he close to breaking out?
4. Ogando struggles the next couple starts, do you insert Hunter back in or do you be patient with Ogando (considering his growing pains)? Boy I miss Ogando in the 8th inning with Oliver.