Three times now I’ve seen a Ranger pitcher take a no-hitter into the 8th inning at Minute Maid Park. The first two times it was Yu Darvish, a guy you feel like is always a threat to throw a no-no, going up against the Astros when they were in full tank mode, when they seemingly were always a threat to be no hit. Yu Darvish in his prime threatening to no-hit the early-aughts Astros is almost an expected thing.
Then we have today...ancient Bartolo Colon, a guy released last year by one of the worst teams in baseball, a guy who signed a minor league deal with the Rangers this past offseason, was looked at as just a depth guy, got released again this spring, ended up being brought back and is currently in the rotation just because Doug Fister is on the d.l., took a perfect game into the 8th inning against what is generally considered to be the best team in baseball.
Baseball is nuts.
Second straight extra inning win against the Astros, and the second straight night Ronald Guzman was a key part of winning the game in extra innings. Last night it was his RBI single that was the game winner. Tonight, with Joey Gallo on first in the top of the 10th, he went the other way for a double that put runners on second and third and set up Robinson Chirinos to bring them both home with a game-winning double.
Guzman also continued to impress with his wingspan at first base, snagging a bad Jurickson Profar throw (and Profar’s throws so far this season are a cause for concern) and looking impressive with the glove. He’s definitely making a case to stay up.
This weekend is a reminder that, even when your team seems bad, baseball can be fun. Its a long season, and there will be lots of things to enjoy, regardless of what the end total of wins and losses is.
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