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ALDS Notebook: Rangers Pull Even

Written by: Bill Ivie on 2nd October 2011

ALDS Notebook: Rangers Pull Even | read this item

Pitching.

It wins championships. It is the deciding factor in games. In October, it reigns supreme. It was supposed to be the postscript to the American League Division Series between the Texas Rangers and the Tampa Bay Rays.

Then again, that is why they play the game on the field and not on paper.

Game one was supposed to be the wake up call for the upstart Rays. The team that slid into the playoffs at the last minute was supposed to meet the dominant force that was the Texas Rangers. The Rangers were the team that looked over matched and the Rays pulled out to an early lead, thanks primarily to the bat of Kelly Shoppach.

After being shut out in game one, the Rangers came back in a passive way in game two. Already down by three runs entering the bottom of the fourth inning it was the ineffective and at times nerve rattling performance by Rays starter James Shields that gave the Rangers hope. Shields, who had held Texas to one run over 20 innings in 2011, seem to have control issues that surfaced first on a curve ball that struck Elvis Andrus. After back to back hits by Josh Hamilton and Michael Young, Shields responded to a mound visit from skipper Joe Maddon by hitting Adrian Beltre with the next pitch, forcing in the first run of the inning. After a two run single by Mike Napoli and a Nelson Cruz strikeout, Shields would throw two wild pitches to David Murphy. The first allowed the runners to move up, the second, a curveball that struck Murphy out, allowed a run to score and Murphy to reach first. Both would come after Murphy hit a ball a few feet in front of the plate that was ruled foul though replays showed that it should have been ruled fair and would have resulted in the second out of the inning. A squib grounder to short would plate another run and cap the five run fourth inning for the Rangers, who never looked back.

The game would close with an 8-6 score and even the series at one. The two teams will take Sunday off for travel as the series comes to Tampa for games three and four.

Last season saw the Rangers take all three games at Tropicana Field in the Division Series where no team won a home game. They will need to win at least one if they want to play in front of the home fans one more time in 2011.

David Price, on the strength of a deceptive 12-13 season, will take the hill for the Rays in front of the fans in Tampa and will look to put his team on top in a pivotal game three. The Rangers will throw Colby Lewis, who was undefeated in the post season in 2010, and posted a 14-10 record this season.

Pitching will be the deciding factor in this series. Whether that proves true in game three or not until game five has yet to be seen.

Bill Ivie is the Assignment Editor for BaseballDigest.com and the founder of i70baseball.com, an official Baseball Digest website covering the Cardinals and Royals.

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Topics: Adrian Beltre, Curve Ball, Curveball, Division Series, Dominant Force, Elvis Andrus, Game One, Grounder, James Shields, Joe Maddon, josh hamilton, Kelly Shoppach, Mike Napoli, Nelson Cruz, Paper Game, Replays, Strikeout, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers, Wake Up Call

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