Thoughts on a 4-2 win

Rangers 4, Mariners 2

• You don't really want the Rangers to score a whole, whole bunch of runs every game, or else it would get boring.
• Very quietly effective game for Matt Harrison, who went 8 innings, struck out 5, walked no one, and gave up 7 hits, needing just 98 pitches. After a stretch of two awful outings followed by three mediocre outings, Harrison has allowed 3 runs in his last 15 innings, lowering his ERA on the year to 4.29.
• Joe Nathan looked really good, yet again. Since allowing 3 runs in blowing a save at home against Seattle on April 11, Nathan has allowed 2 runs (just one earned) in 16.2 innings. On the season, he has a 24:2 K:BB ratio.

• Nelson Cruz got a pair of outfield assists tonight, both on rather bizarre plays. On the first, Alex Liddi led off the fifth inning with a pop into shallow right down the first base line that Ian Kinsler seemed to get under, but then missed. Liddi should have been safe, but because he just kept running around first base on the pop fly, he was trapped between bases when Cruz fielded the ball, allowing him to throw behind Liddi at first base, which ultimately resulted in Liddi being tagged out. A pet peeve of mine...runners just putting their head down and running without paying attention on a pop fly like that. I'll see a runner trotting right past the first baseman on a pop fly right before the first baseman catches it and think, if the fielder drops the ball, the runner will still be out because he'll be thrown out at second. You rarely see it happen, though.
• I missed most of the play that Cruz picked up his second assist on, as I was putting Seth to bed when it happened, but apparently, Craig Gentry made a terrible decision to dive for a Brendan Ryan ball that went past Gentry and to the wall. While I didn't see the Gentry dive, I did see Cruz play the ball at the wall, throw a rocket to Ian Kinsler, the cut-off man, and see Kinsler make a perfect throw home just in time for Napoli to tag Ryan out at the plate. I saw some criticism of the decision to send Ryan there, but if you're the M's third base coach, I have to think you're going to send Ryan because you don't think there's going to be a play. Tremendous pair of relays by the Rangers.
• Four runs for the Rangers. One of them came on a sky-high ball off the bat of Nelson Cruz that plopped into the wedge in right field, and the other came on a 400+ foot home run off the bat of Mike Napoli. Both Cruz and Napoli have had disappointing seasons thusfar offensively, and while Cruz has seemingly been getting back into a groove, prior to yesterday's game, Napoli had been in a horrific slump. Napoli has now homered two games in a row, though...hopefully, he's getting it going now.
• Elvis Andrus doubled in the first inning, attempted to bunt for a hit in his second at bat (without getting the ball down), then bunted in each of his next two plate appearances, failing to get on either time. Its like he's just trying to antagonize us...