A lonestar in california

Wow. That’s really about all my brain can register regarding last night’s series opener against the Mariners. Just… wow. They fell behind. They came back. They coughed up the lead. Took it back. Gave it up again. And then… Ramon Vazquez. And a 13-12 win.

There where no delusions about what this game was going to be from the very start. Vicente Padilla gave up 5 runs in an ugly first inning, that featured 2 errors and a balk, as well as a jet-stream assisted home run by Raul Ibanez. Before the Rangers even came to bat, the game appeared to be in the control of the Mariners and Erik Bedard.

But Bedard didn’t have his A-game last night anymore than Padilla did, as it would turn out. The Rangers started immediately chipping away, with Michael Young doubling in Ian Kinsler to make it 5-1. German Duran hit a sac fly in the second, and then in the bottom of the third, Texas exploded. Josh Hamilton and Milton Bradley started the inning with back-to-back jacks, Hamilton’s being a a 447-foot monster shot to right center. After a walk by Brandon Boggs, and a double by Gerald Laird, Chris Shelton (who would have a breakout day at the plate, going 2-3 with 2 walks and a sacrifice) brought both home with a single to give Texas the lead. That was it for Bedard, but things where just getting started at the Ballpark in Arlington.

Vicente Padilla, who just like Sindey Ponson on Sunday, rebounded from a tough first inning to toss four shutout frames, got into trouble in the 6th when he allowed a leadoff double to Jeff Clement. That prompted his removal in favor of Frank Francisco, who allowed an infield single before giving up a game-tying double to Yuniesky Betancourt.

The game stayed tied at 6 until the bottom of the 7th, when Seattle reliever Ryan Rowland-Smith set up the rally for Texas. Gerald Laird reached on a bunt single to start the inning, and in a strange decision, was bunted over by Chris Shelton. Rowland-Smith then walked German Duran, and threw a wild pitch, but did strike out Ramon Vazquez for the second out of the inning. That was when Seattle Manager John Mclaren decided to bring in Mark Lowe, and not long after that move, all hell was loosed on the Mariners.

Lowe walked Ian Kinsler to load the bases, and that brought up Michael Young. Young swung at the first pitch, and grounded it to second – but Jose Lopez bobbled it, the go-ahead run scored, and the inning continued. The next batter was Josh Hamilton, and he whacked an 0-2 pitch past the shortstop Betancourt for a 2-run single, and Frank Catalanotto followed with an RBI single of his own. That made it 10-6 after 7.

In the top of the 8th, Joaquin Benoit gave up a 2-run homer to Wladimir Balentien, but the Rangers would tack on a couple more with bases-loaded walks in the bottom of the frame. Heading to the top of the 9th, Texas lead 12-8, with CJ Wilson coming on. That’s when disaster struck.

Wilson, who has really struggled of late to throw strikes and get consistent outs, proceeded to squander the entire 4-run lead, surrendering an RBI double to Ibanez, and then a 3-run homer to Kenji Johjima. Jamey Wright had to come in and finish the inning, and after the Rangers stuck out in order against Brandon Morrow in the bottom of the 9th, the game headed into extras.

Doug Mathis, just up from AAA was called upon to make his Major League debut in a helluva pressure spot, the top of the 10th inning, and he delivered. He got Yuniesky Betancourt to ground to second, retired Ichiro on a liner to second, and then got Jose Vidro to fly out – the first 1-2-3 inning for Ranger pitching since the top of the 7th, when Frank Francisco set down the side in order.

Then it was time for the bottom of the 10th. David Murphy struck out to start the frame, the fourth consecutive K for Brandon Morrow but then… on a 1-0 count… Ramon Vazquez got ahold of a 94 MPH Morrow fastball, and blasted it into the right field seats. Game. Over.

As Ramon would later explain, he was simply up there sitting dead red, and Morrow didn’t disappoint:

“He was coming right at people,” Vazquez said. “I got a good pitch to hit, the pitch I was looking for. I was looking for a fastball down. I was just hoping to lay off the breaking ball. He’s a guy you don’t want to hit his breaking ball. I wanted to get a fastball and get the head off the bat on it.”

…

“That’s a great feeling,” Vazquez said. “That’s all the power I had.”

Doug Mathis would wind up a winner after his very first inning in The Show, calling it ”the coolest thing I’ve ever experienced”,  and the Rangers now lead this three game vendetta series against Seattle 1-0. It may not have been a pretty win, but the momentum from this latest rollercoaster ride was much needed after the A’s let a little air out of the Rangers balloon on Sunday.

There was one small chink in the celebration of this one, though: Milton Bradley apparently hurt himself taking a practice swing in the 7th (which is why Frank Catalanotto hit for him instead). He is currently listed as day-to-day, and will not be in the lineup tomorrow. Sigh. MB = china doll.

Elsewhere, TR Sullivan has a piece up on Jamey Wright, and how important he has been to the bullpen this season – very true, you gotta love the job “The Electrician” has done in 2008. But more interesting to me is this line at the end on Frankie Francisco from Ron Washington:

“Frankie is starting to turn the corner as far as his fastball and he’s starting to get his secondary pitches over,” Washington said. “If he can continue to do that, you never know what will happen. He used to be a stud. His confidence is starting to go up.”

I still hesitate to say that the Frankie of old is back just yet, but he’s been back up to 96-97 on the gun on a regular basis lately, and has flashed some wicked stuff – if he keeps it up, I would say it won’t be long before Francisco starts to get some consideration to perhaps pitch a few times in the 8th, maybe even 9th innings, considering the recent struggles of Joaquin Benoit and CJ Wilson.

TR also has some notes on David Murphy’s recent slump, and Marlon Byrd’s status - Murphy, who got the night off Monday, was hitting just .167 in his last 13 games. Much of that slump can be attributed to his being only 1 for his last 20 against left-handed pitchers, a rash of which the Rangers have faced lately. With Marlon Byrd about ready to come back, the Rangers may soon be able to suppress that issue, but it’s also mentioned there that Byrd still might be left down in OKC for a couple more games. However, with Milton Bradley hurting himself last night, I’m betting Byrd is going to be up tomorrow – and I’m also betting that sooner or later, Byrd is going to platoon with Murphy against LHP, whether Washington calls it an official platoon or not.  

Today it’s Kason Gabbard making his first start since being attacked by Sexson- he will reprise his matchup with Felix Hernandez once again. This time Richie Sexson isn’t in the lineup to try and kill Gabbard, so hopefully we can get him though at least the the 6th inning. The less innings the bullpen has to pitch right now, the better.