Thoughts on a 4-1 Rangers win

Rangers 4, Angels 1

• That's the Martin Perez we have been wanting to see this year.
• When we talk about how Martin Perez has the ability to be a legit #2, this is the sort of outing that we have in mind.  Working efficiently, throwing strikes, getting out of the occasional jam.  Perez's final line was 6 IP, 6 K's, 5 hits, 2 walks and 0 runs allowed.
• I thought Perez could have gone another inning -- he ended the game at 90 pitches -- but he had a "high stress" sixth, and that likely contributed to the decision to pull him.  After allowing back to back singles to start the sixth, putting runners on first and third with no outs, Perez induced Kole Calhoun to hit a sharp grounder to Mitch Moreland.  Moreland quickly threw home, and Bryan Holaday was able to get the tag down to keep a run from scoring and pick up the first out.  Perez then caught Mike Trout looking for the second out, and after a four pitch walk to Albert Pujols, got Johnny Giavotella on a change up to end the inning.
• Perez was throwing 95-96 mph in the sixth, which is as hard as I've seen him throw this year.  Perez's ERA is down to 3.13 on the year.
• Texas went with Jake Diekman, Matt Bush and Sam Dyson for the 7th-8th-9th, and other than a run allowed by Bush after runners got to second and third with one out in the eighth, things were largely uneventful.
• As far as the bats go, the Rangers had seven hits today -- three apiece by Nomar Mazara and Ian Desmond, and one by Elvis Andrus.  Elvis drove in the first run of the game in the fourth inning, when he doubled home Mazara, who had singled.  In the seventh, Mazara homered, driving in Beltre, who had reached on a hit by pitch.  And in the eighth, with runners on first and third and two outs, the Rangers got an insurance run when Mazara broke to second, eliciting a throw through that allowed Desmond to score from third while Mazara was in a rundown.
• This is the type of game I think we expected to see the Rangers winning quite a few of this year...strong pitching, a quality effort from the bullpen, and the bats pushing a few runs across.  And this is, hopefully, the Martin Perez we will be seeing more of going forward.