The Rangers have now won 7 of their last 8. That sounds better to me than saying that their 7 game winning streak just ended. They've also won 11 of their last 14.
Colby Lewis pitched much better than 4 IP, 8 runs (7 earned) would suggest. No homers and no walks while striking out six, with the damage coming from 9 singles, 2 doubles and an error. While there were some hard-hit balls off of Lewis, there were also a couple of bloop singles, a single on a ball that Mike Napoli booted and should have fielded, and balls that simply found holes. Colby wasn't great, but he was a lot better than his line indicated, and pitched well enough that you'd think 7 runs would have been enough for the Rangers to win.
Watching Rangers Live, Ron Washington just said that what happened with Lewis pitching better than his line was "just baseball." Washington also is saying that he thinks that the popup in the third inning, where Elvis Andrus and Josh Hamilton each pulled up and the ball fell for a two run single, is a play you'd think should have been made, and maybe was a mis-communication between the two. That play was critical...if Hamilton (who I thought should have made the play on the ball, coming in on it) catches that ball, there are three outs, and Colby Lewis escapes from the third inning without any runs scoring. Instead, two runs score, runners are on second and third as a result of a Josh Hamilton throwing error on the play at home (when the ball hit the runner coming home and bounded away, allowing the runners to advance), and those two runners come home when Chris Nelson singled to center. What should have been a 1-0 Rockies lead going into the bottom of the third was instead a 5-0 Rockies lead.
Hamilton wasn't the only outfielder with a rough game in the field...Brandon Snyder, playing right field (after Craig Gentry left in the fourth having aggravated his ankle), took a poor angle on a ball to right field that should have been cut off, turning a single into a double, and then got turned around on a deep fly ball to the right field wall that there could have been an inning-ending play made on, but which instead was a two-run double. Snyder is really not equipped to be playing the outfield regularly, and the Rangers should be looking for a righthanded hitting outfielder.
Michael Kirkman retired six straight hitters in his 2 innings pitched, but the first three hitters he faced went double-homer-homer, with none of the hits of the cheap variety. Not a good outing for a guy who is already on a roster bubble.
Mark Lowe pitched a pair of shutout innings, so that was good. And Tanner Scheppers pitched a perfect inning, lowering his ERA on the year to 9.95.
There were some positive signs from the offense, particularly from a couple of guys who have been struggling...Mike Napoli and Michael Young each went 2 for 5, with Young's two hits being of the line-drive-to-right-field variety that he hits when he's going well. Nelson Cruz was 3 for 5 with a pair of homers, and seems like he might be getting into a groove, and Adrian Beltre was 3 for 5 as well.
On the other hand, Josh Hamilton was 0 for 5 today, with 4 Ks and a ground out to the pitcher, continuing his June swoon.
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