Last night the Rangers were trying to bounce back from a loss that saw them strand numerous players on base and score only one run against the Red Sox. The players knew that they had to have more timely hits in the second game of this series. I would say mission accomplished. The Rangers won last night 10-7. It was their highest output since Opening Day. There was a dark cloud though hanging over this game.

Adrian Beltre had to be lifted from the lineup in the 5th innings with tightness in his left quad. He will be out of the game today as he is being sent back to Texas to have it examined. It is the same quad that gave him issues in Spring Training and kept him out for a few games. Hopefully it is not a big issue and he will be able to come back during the homestand. If it requires a DL stint, then expect Kevin Kouzmanoff to be brought up from Round Rock to fill the spot. That is too bad that this happened because everything else with this game was really good.

The game really got started in the 3rd inning. Robinson Chirinos announced his presence with an absolute monster of a home run that I am still not sure if it has come down. It was Chirino’s first hit of the season and first home run since 2012. That was just the start of it. They would go on to bat around that inning and score 5 runs. Prince Fielder even broke out of his slump with and rbi double this inning. He hit it right down the line and it bounced over the shift and into the corner, it scored Shin Shoo Choo. Beltre then followed that up with a rbi single, Rios then had a single, and Donnie Murphy knocked in one with a rbi double. Chirinos finished up the scoring with a walk that scored a run. All in all the Rangers scored 5 runs that inning, which is their largest output in a single inning this season. They batted around for the first time this season. Most of all they got two hits with runners in scoring position. That is what was missing from Monday night. They took advantage of mistakes Felix Doubront was making. After that inning the score was 5-0 giving the Rangers their largest lead of the season too.

It was up to Martin Perez to make it stand up and he did. He did allow the leadoff man to get on base every inning, but he only allowed 4 runs and 3 of them were in the 7th inning when he was clearly tired. He did that by getting the Red Sox to ground into double plays 5 of the first 6 innings. It seemed like every time he had runners on base he was able to get a ground ball and the defense turned it. The infield was very good tonight. All of the exchanges were clean and they took care of business tonight. He ended up with 8 groundouts total. Perez did a great job at keeping the ball down and getting outs when he needed them. That allowed him to be able to pitch into the 7th inning and get the win. His final line was 6.1 innings pitched, 4 earned runs, 3 walks, and 3 k’s. When he left the score was 9-1 and it looked like the Rangers were going to easily win this game.

The bullpen did come in and make it a lot closer. Jason Frasor allowed 2 inherited runners to score, and then Joakim Soria allowed 3 runs in the 9th in a non-save situation. Washington decided to go with his A-team of relievers in this game. I will discuss my feelings on this in the notes section. The Rangers did win 10-7 and improved to 4-4 on the season.

Notes from the Game

• Robinson Chirinos had his best of the season so far. He went 2-4, with 2 runs, 2 rbi’s, and a home run. He performed real well in Spring, but had not had a hit so far this season. There is still a competition between him and Arencibia to see who gets more playing time. A game like this will make Wash consider giving him more playing time as we go forward into the season.
• Michael Choice got another start today and is still struggling. That success he has had in Arizona has not translated to the regular season. He is hitting .083 so far on the season, 1 hit in 12 at-bats. He will stay on the roster though at least until Engel Beltre is ready in June. Hopefully he can start hitting and force his way into the lineup, but until then he will still only get sporadic starts and pinch-hitting opportunities.
• Now the bullpen situation. On Monday in a much tighter 2-1 game late Washington decided to go with Seth Rosin and Shawn Tolleson to finish the game. They proceed to give up 3 runs in their 2 + innings of work. Tonight though in a 9-1 game Washington decided to use his A-team of relievers: Frasor, Cotts, and Soria.  I don’t quite understand the reasoning. I would have used them the night before to try to keep the game 2-1 and give the offense a shot at just needing to get one run. He decided to use them tonight and of course they were not as sharp as they needed to be. Frasor came in and walked the first hitter and gave up a 2-run double to Jackie Bradley Jr. Then in the 9th in a 10-4 game he used the closer Joakim Soria. Soria did strike out the side, but not before giving up 3 runs to make it 10-7. I just don’t understand some of Wash’s moves. Today’s game could be close and the relievers might not be as effective due to having pitched last night in a blowout. That is a storyline to follow in today’s game if it is close late.
• The Rangers improved to 4-4. I said before the season if they could survive these first two months at playing .500 ball they would be okay. They are starting to get healthier and they have a shot at a 3-3 road trip through Tampa Bay and Boston. That would be an accomplishment.
• The Rangers turned 5 double plays. The MLB record is 6 by a single pitcher and that was done by Matt Harrison in 2011 against the New York Yankees. It looked like he had the record in the 6th inning until Mike Napoli avoided the tag and kept the Rangers from turning that double play.
• In injured pitchers news, Colby Lewis will make his first MLB start since 2012 on Saturday against the Houston Astros. He pitched 5 innings and throwing 98 pitches in his last start and so the Rangers deemed him ready. Matt Harrison made another rehab outing yesterday for Frisco. He went 4.2 innings, giving up 3 hits, 1 run, 3 k’s, and best of all 11 groundball outs. He is still probably one or two starts away from rejoining the team.

The Rangers and Red Sox conclude their series today with an afternoon tilt at 3:05. It will be Robbie Ross Jr. making his second start against veteran right-hander Jake Peavy. Ross will be looking to improve on his 5 inning stint from last Wednesday. Then the Rangers will be off till Friday night.