SERIES PREVIEW: Texas Rangers (65-60) @ Tampa Bay Devil Rays (47-75)
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by user ASwaff
The Lowdown: The Texas Rangers visit the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for the second half of their eight game road trip, and go with a three-game winning streak. Since losing four straight at the beginning of the month, the Rangers have won nine out of 11. Although they still sit in third place in the A.L. West, and although they still sit 6.5 games behind the first-place Oakland Athletics, they are now just one game behind the LAA Angels. I’m kind of having a “What About Bob” moment right now. Baby steps to the division title, baby steps to the playoffs...
August has been particularly cruel to a D-Rays team that never has a particularly friendly month. They come into this series having lost two straight, and lost seven straight games at one point this month. So far in August, they are 5-13. Tampa Bay comes in as the third-worst team in baseball, just two games better than the Pittsburgh Pirates and five games better than the Kansas City Royals. The Rangers have won all five meetings against the Devil Rays this season.
Players to Watch:
Mark Teixeira - Despite going just 3-15 (.200) in the series with the Detroit Tigers, Tex was one of the heroes. He managed that because, despite his poor average, he gave the Rangers something they’ve been needing all season - timely hitting. Yes, he only had two runs. Yes, he only had two RBI. But all of them came on two solo homers that were pivotal in their respective games. He may not put up colossal numbers in this series, but look for him to come through in more key situations.
Gary Matthews - He’s still batting .286 for the month of August, but Matthews is just three for his last 20 (.150) and has just two runs and one RBI in his last five games. Will he be able to break out of it with some at-bats against D-Rays pitching? Not so fast on that response...Matthews is batting just .176 in four games against Tampa Bay this season. At least he’s still making great plays in the field.
Rangers left side infielders - Hank Blalock and Michael Young have terrorized the Devil Rays this season. The two have combined for a .375 batting average, including six doubles, 10 RBI and seven runs.
Carl Crawford - The last time these teams played, Crawford was in a bit of a funk. As a result, he’s hitting just .190 against Texas this season. This time around, they catch him with a .391 batting average on the month and a six-game hitting streak.
Bullpens - Despite having a combined ERA of 5.02, Rays relievers Shawn Camp, Brian Meadows and Dan Miceli have somehow managed to convert 16 of 19 save opportunities. And, although the Rangers have battered starting pitchers from the D-Rays, their bullpen has managed to post a 3.24 ERA against Texas. Considering they have a bullpen that is deceptively good, and the Rangers have a bullpen that just put up 13 scoreless innings in four games against the Detroit Tigers, we could see some pretty exciting late-inning matchups. Just hope there won’t be any beanballs.
Probables:
Monday, August 21, 6:05 CST
TEX: RHP Adam Eaton (3-2, 3.86)
TB: RHP James Shields (5-6, 4.75)
This interesting matchup pairs two pitchers that have had great outings, but have proven to be extremely spotty. Shields had an amazing June, going 4-1 with a 3.60 ERA. Until his last start of that month, he was 4-0 with a 1.80 ERA. And, so far this month, he is 1-1 with a 2.33 ERA. It’s already a great rebound from a July in which he went 0-4 with a 6.49 ERA. Unfortunately, the Rangers have to face him at home, where Shields has been his best. In Tropicana this year, Shields is 3-1 with a 3.03 ERA.
He will go against Eaton, who has looked better in his last two starts as he returns from his injury. In those two starts, he has recorded two wins and posted an ERA of 2.77. The key for him will be keeping his walks and his pitch count down. When he lasts more than four innings this season, he is 3-0 with a 1.89 ERA.
Tuesday, August 22, 6:15 CST
TEX: RHP Vicente Padilla (12-7, 4.39)
TB: LHP Scott Kazmir (10-8, 3.31)
Fresh off his suspension for throwing at Angels batters, Padilla will be looking to maintain his perfect record in August. He is 2-0 in his last three starts with a 4.58 ERA. Since the All-Star break, he is 4-2 with a 4.26 ERA. And if it weren’t for Roger Clemens, Padilla would be facing the best pitcher in baseball with a bad record. Kazmir has had just one bad month this year, and continues to pitch well even without much support from his team. He has a 2.70 ERA in two starts this month, and has a 3.38 ERA since the All-Star break. Despite posting a very good ERA, he is winless in his last five starts. As with Eaton, pitch count has been a serious issue for Kazmir. In 11 of his 23 starts this year, he has lasted fewer than six innings.
Wednesday, August 23, 6:15 CST
TEX: RHP Kevin Millwood (12-8, 4.58)
TB: LHP Casey Fossum (6-5, 5.06)
Lately, Kevin Millwood has been getting about as much help as he got pitching for the Cleveland Indians last year. He’s just 4-3 since the All-Star break, even though he’s holding opponents to a .251 batting average and posting better ERA, slugging and OBP numbers than he did in the first half of the season. He has managed to win his last two starts, however, and still has great numbers in away games (8-2, 3.29).
It’s another interesting matchup, as he goes against a pitcher in Fossum that has been drastically better at home than on the road (4-2, 3.63). Mostly, Fossum has just struggled for consistency. In his last start, he took a no-decision after allowing five earned runs in six innings, even though he recorded a career-high 10 strikeouts. In his previous four starts, he was 2-2. In the two wins, he pitched at least six innings without allowing a single earned run. In the two losses, he lasted less than two innings and allowed five earned runs. Earlier this year, he recorded a loss against Texas after allowing eight earned runs through four innings.
Thursday, August 24, 6:15 CST
TEX: RHP Edinson Volquez (1-2, 4.02)
TB: RHP Tim Corcoran (4-5, 4.13)
Here we have two pitchers that have shown promise, but are looking to get back on track after difficult starts. Volquez may struggle against a Tampa Bay lineup that is not particularly heavy with lefty bats. Volquez is holding left-handed hitters to a .167 batting average, while right-handers are hitting .342 against him. He will need to overcome that, as well as his road record in order to stand a chance in this game. In two starts on the road, Volquez is 0-2 with a 7.27 ERA.
Corcoran has had a meteoric descent since the All-Star break. He won his first three starts of the season, and put up a 4-0 record with a 1.57 ERA prior to the break. Since then, he’s lost five straight decisions, posting an ERA of 5.88. In his last start against the Indians, Corcoran was doing well until he ran into trouble in the fourth inning. He threw 41 pitches that inning, and got lifted after allowing three runs on a total of five hits and five walks.
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Date
Mon 08/21/06, 12:39 am EST
