Tuesday Morning Texas Rangers Update

Good morning. Game one of the four-game set in Baltimore went to the Rangers. One down, three to go. Then we'll be free of those July, 2010 memories.

ESPN Dallas' Jeff Seidel offers the Rapid Reaction to the Rangers' 8-5 victory over the Rangers of the East, the Baltimore Orioles.

T.R. Sullivan's game story focuses on Derek Holland holding Chris Davis at bay (0-4 with four strikeouts and a walk) long enough for the Rangers to have the six-run inning that propelled them to the win.

Evan Grant writes that Ross Wolf's lone pitch to get the final out in the 7th inning didn't get overlooked by the coaching staff and may have been the biggest pitch of the game.

Jeff Wilson recaps the game and proclaims Elvis Andrus the hero for coming through with a big bases loaded RBI single in the 6th that put the Rangers ahead for good. That was an important AB for Elvis as it came after hitting a hard grounder that ended up being a rally-killing double play in the 4th.

Behind the DMN paywall, Barry Horn writes about Ron Washington's journey from marginal managerial candidate to now ten wins away from breaking Bobby Valentine's record for wins all-time by a Rangers' manager.

Sullivan profiles Final Vote candidate Tanner Scheppers and his evolution from thrower to pitcher. Tanner is currently in last place in the Final Vote standings but it's still neat that he's even being considered for the All-Star Game only one year after finally debuting with the Rangers.

On the Manny front: Wills writes about how Ramirez has already assisted Mike Olt by discovering a flaw in his swing which helped Olt break out of a 1-21 slump. It makes you wonder just what the heck Scott Coolbaugh does with his time in Round Rock.

Gil LeBreton offers his thoughts on Manny's new opportunity with the Rangers and notes that it was Tony Fernandez who recommended that the Rangers give Manny a chance. I forgot that Tony Fernandez was a special assistant with the Rangers.

Sullivan's Notebook covers Wednesday's undecided starter (I'd imagine it'll be Josh Lindblom), progress for Matt Harrison and Colby Lewis, and an injury update on Jeff Baker and Craig Gentry.

Wilson's notes cover Harrison aiming for a late August return to the big leagues, Adrian Beltre's AL Player of the Week honors, and Washington's take on #TakeTanner.

I checked the DMN's weekly Top Prospect Slideshow and it still has an update on how Nick Williams fared last week. P.S. Nick Williams, as always, fared well.

Jeff Passan selects his MLB First-Half Awards and has awarded "Best Use of Technology" to LSB's own Drew Sheppard under the title of "GIF Master." Congratulations to Drew on his ever-growing fame. (Passan also gives an award to Elvis Andrus for being baseball's "Most Annoying Little Brother" because he's playfully pestered Adrian Beltre so much that the national media has finally noticed.)