By Noah Shelton @SheltonOKC
A particularly dangerous situation (PDS). That was the warning given by the National Weather Service Tuesday afternoon. The threat of severe weather lurked in the night sky at Globe Life Park Tuesday.
The severe weather held off, but the particularly dangerous situation was in full effect for the Yankees’ right hander Luis Severino. The Rangers scored one run in the first off a Prince Fielder single that allowed Nomar Mazara to score. Then, in the third, the flood gates opened and the runs poured in.
Ian Desmond walked with the bases loaded allowing Mazara to score again, Moreland hit a two-run single to center, a wild pitch allowed Desmond to score, then Andrus drove in Moreland on a single to center. Nicholas’ at bat would be the final of the inning after he was robbed by a diving catch in right field by Carlos Beltran.
Nine of the 10 runs scored by the Rangers on Tuesday night came with two outs and five of them came in the third. The Rangers’ offensive performance finally aligned with a superb pitching performance. And as you would expect, it was a sight to see.
A.J. Griffin went eight innings and allowed 1 run on 4 hits with 5 strikeouts through 98 pitches. Griffin’s eight inning performance was the longest outing of the year for a Rangers’ pitcher.
Griffin is “making a case for himself” said Jeff Banister.
Darvish still has at least four more weeks before his return, which leaves Griffin with as many as five more starts. The Rangers should have a good enough idea by that point of whether or not he is worth a spot in the rotation at the expense of, say, Holland or Perez.
The bats were back in Arlington on Tuesday night. Andrus went 3 for 4 with an RBI and a run, Desmond was 2 for 3 with a homerun, 2 RBI and 3 runs, and Rougned Odor recorded his third homerun of the year.
On his 21st birthday, Nomar Mazara was able to record 2 hits and 2 runs and continued to show advanced maturity for his young age.
“Every time I go to my apartment, I think about the past few weeks,” Mazara said. “It’s been the best three weeks I ever had in my life.”
The Rangers look to start a new streak on the winning side of things. A win tonight, to take the series, would be a great turnaround from the four game losing streak.
The matchup is NYY: Sabathia (1-1, 5.28 ERA) vs TEX: Perez (0-2, 4.50). Maybe Martin Perez can turn around his season tonight in a similar fashion to the Rangers’ Tuesday night beat down of the Yankees. His spot in the rotation may depend on it.
Sports Interest 