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Series Schedule:
Monday, September 9 7:05: RHP Gerrit Cole vs. RHP Yu Darvish
Tuesday, September 10 7:05: LHP Francisco Liriano vs. LHP Martin Perez
Wednesday, September 11 1:05: RHP A.J. Burnett vs. LHP Matt Garza
If you believe that there are an infinite number of universes with an infinite number of possibilities therein, then there's a universe that exists where come Oct. 31, this will transpire:
Game 1
Wednesday, October 23, 2013 at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Pittsburgh Pirates 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 5 1
Texas Rangers 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 2 x 5 10 0
PITCHERS:
PIT - Burnett, Mazzaro (7), Wilson (8), Morris (8) Melancon (9)
TEX - Darvish, Ogando (8), Cotts (8), Nathan (9)
WP - Yu Darvish
LP - A.J. Burnett
SAVE - Joe Nathan
HOME RUNS: TEX - Kinsler, Rios
PIT - Marte
ATTENDANCE: 49,264
Game 2
Thursday, October 24, 2013 at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Pittsburgh Pirates 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 2 0 5 7 0
Texas Rangers 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 3 8 2
PITCHERS:
PIT - Liriano, Watson (8), Mazzaro (8), Melancon (8), Grilli (9)
TEX - Holland, Feliz (8), Scheppers (9)
WP - Tony Watson
LP - Derek Holland
SAVE - Jason Grilli
HOME RUNS: TEX - none
PIT - Alvarez, Jones
ATTENDANCE: 48,988
Game 3
Saturday, October 26, 2013 at PNC Park
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Texas Rangers 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 5 1
Pittsburgh Pirates 0 1 0 4 0 0 0 2 x 7 13 0
PITCHERS: PIT - Locke, Morris (8), Wilson (9)
TEX - Garza, Frasor (7), Soria (8), Cotts (8)
WP - Jeff Locke
LP - Matt Garza
HOME RUNS: TEX - Beltre, Cruz
PIT - Jones, McCutchen
ATTENDANCE: 41,012
Game 4
Sunday, October 27, 2013 at PNC Park
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Texas Rangers 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 1 2 0 1 7 9 0
Pittsburgh Pirates 2 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 6 8 1
PITCHERS:
TEX - Perez, Frasor (6), Ross (6), Ogando (7), Feliz (8), Scheppers (9), Nathan (10), Cotts (11)
PIT - Cole, Mazzaro (7), Wilson (8), Melacon (8), Grilli (9), Watson (10), Morton (11)
WP - Joe Nathan
LP - Charlie Morton
SAVE - Neal Cotts
HOME RUNS: TEX - Beltre, Pierzynski, Profar
PIT - Alvarez, Byrd (2), Morneau
ATTENDANCE: 39,951
Game 5
Monday, October 28, 2013 at PNC Park
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Texas Rangers 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 5 1
Pittsburgh Pirates 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
PITCHERS: TEX - Darvish, Nathan (9)
PIT - Burnett, Watson (8), Melancon (9)
WP - Yu Darvish
LP - A.J. Burnett
SAVE - Joe Nathan
HOME RUNS: TEX - None PIT - None ATTENDANCE: 40,975
Game 6
Wednesday, October 30, 2013 at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Pittsburgh Pirates 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 5 1
Texas Rangers 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 3 0
PITCHERS: PIT - Liriano, Grilli (9)
TEX - Holland, Scheppers (9)
WP - Francisco Liriano
LP - Derek Holland
SAVE - Jason Grilli
HOME RUNS: TEX - none
PIT - McCutchen
ATTENDANCE: 49,623
Game 7
Thursday, October 31, 2013 at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Pittsburgh Pirates 0 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 4 7 1
Texas Rangers 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 3 x 5 8 0
PITCHERS:
PIT - Locke, Cole (7), Melancon (8)
TEX - Garza, Ogando (6), Cotts (7), Scheppers (7), Feliz (8) Nathan (9)
WP - Neftali Feliz
LP - Mark Melancon
SAVE - Joe Nathan
HOME RUNS: TEX - Moreland, Beltre
PIT - Martin, Inge
ATTENDANCE: 50,034
Wouldn't it be fun if that universe were this universe?
Here's a breakdown of the pitching match-ups against not our 'Rates for the next three days:
- Yu Darvish: 12-7, 12.02 K/9, 3.31 BB/9, .259 BABIP, 83.7% LOB, 3.32 FIP, 2.78 xFIP, 4.3 WAR - Last three starts: 10 runs allowed in 18.2 innings
- Gerrit Cole: 6-7, 6.50 K/9, 1.87 BB/9, .305 BABIP, 71.4% LOB, 3.32 FIP, 3.40 xFIP, 1.3 WAR - Last three starts: 7 runs allowed in 19.1 innings
Advantage: I'm looking forward to seeing Yu Darvish mad. I'm looking forward to seeing Gerrit Cole pitch. This seems like a fun match-up for baseball fans.
- Martin Perez: 9-3, 5.97 K/9, 2.46 BB/9, .284 BABIP, 76.4% LOB, 4.11 FIP, 4.02 xFIP, 1.4 WAR - Last three starts: 7 runs allowed in 20.0 innings
- Francisco Liriano: 15-7, 9.20 K/9, 3.51 BB/9, .295 BABIP, 76.9% LOB, 2.75 FIP, 3.09 xFIP, 3.0 WAR - Last three starts: 11 runs allowed in 15.0 innings
Advantage: Another top flight starter in 2013 going up against Martin Perez? Can't wait.
- Matt Garza: 9-4, 8.01 K/9, 2.22 BB/9, .275 BABIP, 74.7% LOB, 3.87 FIP, 3.65 xFIP, 1.9 WAR - Last three starts: 10 runs allowed in 21.0 innings
- A.J. Burnett: 7-10, 9.72 K/9, 3.20 BB/9, .308 BABIP, 71.4% LOB, 2.82 FIP, 2.97 xFIP, 3.4 WAR - Last three starts: 10 runs allowed in 17.1 innings
Advantage: A.J. Burnett is having a fantastic season but he's 7-10. Matt Garza is having a fairly ho-hum season but he's 9-4. This game is a fine example for why pitchers' wins and losses shouldn't be a thing that we care about too much.
Pittsburgh Pirates (8-61, 2nd Place in NL Central)
Rangers' Record vs. Pittsburgh: N/A (Haven't played since 2010)
Pittsburgh's Recent Results: 0-3 swept on the road by the St. Louis Cardinals
Pittsburgh's 2013 Road Record: 36-36
Ballpark in Arlington Park Factors (LHB/RHB): HR: 113/104 - Runs: 111/112
SB Nation Pirates' Blog: Bucs Dugout
| Match-up: (as of 09/09) | Rangers | Pirates | Advantage |
| Batting (RAR) | -16.2 (12th) | -18.6 (13th) | The Byrd Man's Revenge |
| Base Running (RAR) | -4.0 (17th) | 4.5 (10th) | Next stop: Respectability |
| Starters (RAR) | 69.2 | 67.1 | Of course this means each team will score a bunch of runs |
| Bullpen (RAR) | 60.7 (2th) | 27.3 (14th) | I miss making Mark Melancon sad |
| Defense (UZR) | 29.7 (5th) | 7.5 (15th) | Do the Pirates have a David Murphy? |
| Overall (UZR + RAR) | 139.4 | 87.8 |
The Pirates are basically the National League Rangers |
Questions to Answer:
- Are the Pirates your National League team this season?
- Who is your Return of the McLemore Approved Player to Watch in this series? (As Adrian Beltre goes, so go the Rangers.)
- Over/Under: 1.5 appearances by Lance Berkman in this series?
- What's your guess for line (IP/H/K/BB/ER) by Yu Darvish tonight as he tries to shake off a bad outing against Oakland last week?
- Yea or Nay: Do the Rangers win their first series in September even at the cost of damaging the Pirates' playoff positioning?