There was not a lot to talk about in the opener on Sunday, as the Astros showed up ready to play and the Rangers looked flat. What is amazing to me about a season opener is the importance placed on one game. True, I was one of those who said Texas would roll into Houston and steamroll the Astros, placing more than enough emphasis on one of 162 games. There were fans who posted all kinds of things on Sunday night about the Astros beating the Rangers, and hey, it was on national television and it looked much better for Houston than most of their other games will look. I believe my Facebook post summed it up the best, when I said "Enjoy this one Astros fans, you will only see about 65 more of these all season."
Houston got a great pitching performance from Bud Norris, who by the way, is phenomenal at home. The numbers they showed for Norris pitching in Houston as opposed to on the road were mind-blowing. Anyway, Houston got a clutch home run from Rick Ankiel, and a terrific night from Jason Maxwell, who is slowly becoming the star in Houston. Texas looked flat offensively, and could never really get anything going. Matt Harrison looked alright, but was not at his best. So congrats to Houston, you scored 8 runs and got the first win of the season.
But then Tuesday and Wednesday happened.
Yu Darvish was perfect on Tuesday night. Okay, ALMOST perfect on Tuesday night. I know that you may not believe this, but as I sat on the couch and watched the first couple of innings, I thought to myself that there was a chance he could no-hit the Astros. The breaking stuff was working as well as it ever has for Darvish. Half of the Astros lineup, if not more, looked foolish at the plate. It was the type of performance that he might not have again this year, but if he does, look out American League, the Cy Young is coming to Arlington.
Darvish was dominating, striking out 14 Houston hitters. As a matter of fact, after the game on Wednesday, the Rangers set a record for most strikeouts in the first three games of a season (43). Texas exploded offensively for 7 runs in the win, blanking the Astros, 7-0.
Wednesday, Alexi Ogando took the mound and delivered a performance that most teams would consider a great one, but after the game Darvish pitched on Tuesday, it looked like it was nothing. Ogando pitched 6.1 innings, allowing just four hits and recording 10 strikeouts of his own. Another shutout for Texas, as the Rangers won today, 4-0. As I mentioned, I have not seen the game yet, but will take the time over the next couple of days to watch it and I will have more comments.
So here we sit, at 2-1 with the hated Angels coming to town on Friday for a weekend series. Friday night it will be Derek Holland on the hill for Texas against Jason Vargas, and Saturday features Matt Harrison in his second start against Tommy Hanson, the newest addition to the Angels starting rotation. But boy I cannot wait until Sunday night. Jered Weaver for the Angels and Yu Darvish again for Texas. One can only hope that Darvish is back on his hot streak and the Ballpark will be rocking!
Oh yeah, and the bum Hamilton is back in town. Make sure and let him know how you feel about him!
No comments:
Post a Comment