Thoughts on an 8-3 win

Rangers 8, Indians 3

• Normally I start these out by talking about the pitching, or the Rangers' record, or something like that, but it would be inappropriate to lead off with anything other than Jurickson Profar today. Profar, like Elvis Andrus before him, has a certain buzz about him, a sense of having a certain ineffable "it" factor. That came through today, as Profar homered in his very first major league at bat, a no-doubt shot to right field, then followed it up with a looping opposite-field double down the left field line in his second at bat, ending up going 2 for 4 in a game he wouldn't even have played in if Ian Kinsler hadn't been scratched with a stiff back. Profar is the first Ranger in team history to homer in his first major league at bat, and is the youngest player to homer since Adrian Beltre did so in 1998.
• I don't think Profar is going to play a ton down the stretch. And I still don't think it is a given that Profar starts the 2013 season on the Opening Day roster (particularly since that would mean either trading Andrus or Ian Kinsler, or moving Kinsler to a different position). But something I've mentioned before is that if you're a young player on this team and you want playing time, you better produce quickly. Profar is off to a very good start in that regard.
• The other AA wunderkind, Mike Olt, did not play again today, despite Ron Washington saying he wanted to get Olt a start during the Cleveland series. Olt has started two games since August 17, and is 1 for 15 in the last 23 days. Whether it is the foot problem, an inability to get into a rhythm, or just not being major league ready, Olt hasn't taken advantage of the promotion, and at this point, I have to think Brandon Snyder is more likely than Olt to be on the post-season roster.

• Derek Holland had a solid outing today, with the only hiccup being a single/home run/double sequence (with the double being a homer in most parks) with two outs in the third that led to Ron Washington coming out to give Holland a talking to. Holland straightened up after that and ended up going 7 innings, allowing just the two runs that scored on the Carlos Santana homer, with 6 Ks and 2 walks, dropping his ERA on the season to 4.79.
• Mark Lowe and Tanner Scheppers finished things up with an inning apiece, Lowe giving up a run in the 8th and Scheppers pitching a scoreless 9th.
• Mike Adams didn't pitch again, and he only has 44 innings on the season, a surprisingly low amount for a guy who has been healthy all year and who is supposedly your #2 reliever. And looking at his usage in August, the pattern is weird...he went 7 straight days without pitching after throwing on back to back days on July 24 and 25, then pitched three games in a row from August 2-4, then only pitched twice in the next ten days, on August 7 and August 11. Adams then pitched three times in four days, didn't pitch for four straight days, then pitched on August 23 and in three straight days from August 26-28. Now he's gone five straight days without pitching. Weird.
• Big day for the bats, as Elvis Andrus and David Murphy each had three hits, Murphy, Profar, Adrian Beltre and Josh Hamilton all homered, and Nelson Cruz and Michael Young each had two hit games. The only hitless Ranger was Mitch Moreland, who was 0 for 5 with two Ks. Moreland also had an error on a pickoff throw in the third inning, and contributed to an infield single when he was too casual in fielding a Jason Kipnis roller, lobbing a throw to Derek Holland (who was also too lackadaisical in covering first base), which allowed Kipnis to reach safely. Kipnis looked out to me on the replay, but Moreland and Holland's lack of urgency made the play close when it shouldn't have been.
• Lefty Bruce Chen is starting for the Royals on Monday, and with it being a day game after traveling plus a lefty on the mound plus a rough game for Moreland today, I wouldn't be surprised if Moreland is off tomorrow. If so, it will be interesting to see whether Olt or Snyder is at first base (or DH, if Young gets the start at first).
• The Rangers have the best record in the A.L. They are three games better than the Yankees, who are tied with the A's for the 2nd best record in the A.L. and just 2 games up on the Rangers East (a.k.a. the Baltimore Orioles). They are tied with the Washington Nationals for the best run differential in MLB, at +112. The Nationals and the Cincinnati Reds have better records, but they play in the weaker league, and the Reds have the added advantage of being in a division with the two worst teams in baseball.