The Texas Rangers lost their first game of the 2016 season in spectacular fashion last night losing 10-2 to the Seattle Mariners. It was a mixture of missed opportunities early and the new pieces of the bullpen not being able to keep it close late. This was different from Opening Day in that the team did hit, not well, but they did get hits and provided themselves with numerous opportunities throughout the game to give themselves a lead going into the 7th-9th innings. In the 4th inning Elvis Andrus and Robinson Chirinos provided run scoring singles, but outside of those hits, the Rangers could not get the big base hit when they had runners on base. Jared Sandler, who does the radio pre and post game shows for the Rangers, had this interesting tweet about the game last night.

That just is not acceptable. To me the one that stands out the most is the 7th inning. The Mariners had just went ahead 4-2 in the top of the inning, but the heart of the Rangers order was coming up in the bottom of the inning. Shin Soo Choo starts off with a 10 pitch walk. Prince Fielder then steps up and instead of continuing to make him work and trying to find his pitch, he swings at the first pitch and pops it straight up. Adrian Beltre then proceeds to do the same thing. Mitch Moreland works the count, but still ends up striking out on the 8th pitch. Fielder and Beltre have to be better there. It feels like they both went up with the approach of just swinging to just hit the game-tying home run. It did not work and in the end it did not matter. I still like what the team is doing. The approach at the plate for the most part has still been really good, the results and runs just have not been there yet. If they continue with this the runs will come, its just Hernandez and Iwakuma can be very difficult to face.

The concerning part of the game to me though is that Tony Barnette and Tom Wilhelmsen were just awful today. Barnette was making his MLB debut after spending the past 7 years in Japan. He started out well enough by getting the 2 of the first 3 hitters out, but then he left one up and over the plate to Leonys Martin who drove it in the left field corner to score Seth Smith. Then he allowed another single to Nori Aoki to make the score 4-2. At that point Bannister removed him in favor of Jake Diekman. He was able to get out of the inning with one pitch on a groundout against Ketel Marte. That was minor compared to the disaster Tom Wilhelmsen was. Wilhelmsen came in and took their chances of winning and flushed them down the toilet. He gave up a home run to Robinson Cano to lead of the inning, a double to Nelson Cruz, an RBI-double to Kyle Seager, a home run to Seth Smith, and then after a coaching visit he plunked Chris Ianneta and then proceeded to yell back-and-forth with the Mariners catcher. That got him ejected. So overall not the best night at the office and actually it might have one of the worst appearances of his career as his line ended up 0.0 innings pitched, 5 runs, 4 hits, 2 home runs given up. He was a disaster last night. The plunking of Ianneta led to both managers coming out onto the field and getting into it from their side of the diamond. It was ridiculous and completely unnecessary. I hope Wilhelmsen did not hit him on purpose, but the timing of it made it look like it was as it came right after the Seth Smith home run. Andrew Faulkner then ended up coming in and giving up another home run to Luis Sardinas to make it 10-2 and that would be game,set,match to the Mariners. It was a loss and it sucks, but it was one the Rangers deserved to lose. They did not come through with enough timely hits and the bullpen did not pitch well enough to give them an opportunity late. The loss drops the Rangers record to 1-1 and the Mariners improve to 1-1.

Other Game Notes

• I got through all of that intro without even mentioning the starting pitchers. Iwakuma was not his usual dominant self against the Rangers, but he made the pitches when he needed to and was able to labor through 5 innings, giving up 6 hits, 2 runs, and 3 walks. Iwakuma was able to get out of jams in the 1st, 3rd, and 5th innings. The only time the Rangers got to him for runs was the 4th with the RBI singles by Elvis Andrus and Robinson Chirinos. So while he was not great he was good enough. The same can also be said for Martin Perez. He pitched 6 innings giving up 2 runs as well. He gave a run on a single to Chris Ianneta in the 2nd and then a solo home run to Nelson Cruz in the 4th inning. He was able to make big pitches though to get out of innings. In the second he got a ground ball double play off the bat of Dae-Ho Lee and then got another inning ending double play in the 6th off the bat of Kyle Seager. He left with the score tied 2-2. Iwakuma and Perez both did their jobs in giving their teams an opportunity to win. The bullpen for the Mariners pitched better than the bullpen for the Rangers. The Rangers still have not won a game that Iwakuma started for the Mariners since 2013.
• Ian Desmond has had quite the introduction to the American League. Yesterday it was King Felix and today it was Hisashi Iwakuma. Two very difficult pitchers to face because of what all they bring to the table. Hernandez is about the variety of pitches and his ability to locate all of those pitches. Yesterday it was Iwakuma moving all of his pitches in and around the strike zone and from different arm angles. It made Desmond look helpless up there, especially in the 5th when he struck out on a pitch way up and out of the strike zone. Iwakuma is a master of putting the ball on different planes throughout an at-bat. He can run it high, have it dip into the dirt, or cut it to hit the corners of the plate. He leaves very few pitches in the middle of the strike zone. Everything is on the corners. It makes it hard for an umpire to call and even harder for the batter to hit. He did get his first hit though in the 9th when he beat out a groundball to Kyle Seager. It did have to be reviewed, but the review showed that he was safe. So he is no longer 0-for. Today should be easier Miley is not as dominant as these last two guys are.

Preview of Today’s Game

1:05 p.m., Fox Sports Oklahoma, Fox Sports SW, Wade Miley vs Colby Lewis

This afternoon is the rubber game of the series as both try to end the first series of the season with a home win. It would be a huge statement for either team to claim this first divisional series of the season. Wade Miley will be making his first appearance in a game for the Mariners after being acquired in the offseason from the Boston Red Sox. The left-hander will be looking to improve upon his 1-2 record and his 3.86 ERA in his career against the Rangers. Look for the Rangers to try to take advantage of his lack of control in the Rangers ballpark. In two starts there he has 1.286 WHIP(Walks at Hits/Innings Pitched). The Rangers hitters just need to be as patient at the plate as they have been in the first two games and then drive the ball when they have an opportunity to score runs. Keep an eye on the right-handed hitters today. I would not be surprised at all to see Ryan Rua get his first start of the season against the left-hander. Miley lost most lefties does not fare as well against righties as he does against lefties. I would expect Moreland to get the day off and for Rua to play first.

As for the Rangers Colby Lewis makes his first start of the season. Lewis resigned with the team in the offseason and had an up-and-down spring. Arizona is normally not good for a guy with his stuff though. He is a flyball pitcher and in Arizona fly balls turn into home runs very easily. The most important thing though is he got his innings in, he is ready, and he is healthy. The most important thing for him today is location. Can he spot his fastball on the corners of the plate? He needs to have his slider working and be enticing enough to swing at. When he is good that slider dips at the last moment down and away from the righties and down and in to lefties. When he is not good the slider looks flat and hangs up and over the plate. It needs to have that sharp brake to it. He also needs to his changeup working for his fastball to look better as well. At this point in his career he does not have what would be classified as great stuff, he has what would be considered good control and veteran poise out on the mound. That is what has made him successful throughout his career and what led him to a career high 17 wins last season. The key batters for him will be Robinson Cano, Nelson Cruz, and Kyle Seager. If he can silence their bats and keep them in ballpark he will be doing a good job.

Player to Watch

Review from Yesterday: I chose Roughned Odor yesterday and he went 0-3 with a walk and a run scored. He did score the tying run and for the second straight day he made a spectacular play in the field. I wouldn’t say it was a total loss. He did have an impact on the game early with his play in the field and in the one time he did get on base he scored. He did not have as big of a day though as Chirinos and Andrus had.

Today’s Player: LF Ian Desmond. I am going with this just off of feel and no stats to back me up. Desmond hit very well this spring, but has started with facing two pitchers he is not very familiar with and that has led to just one hit in the first two games. Today I believe will be different. It is a lefty on the mound and one that may leave one up and over the plate for Desmond to hit. I would not be surprised to see Desmond come through with a 2-5 type day. I believe he will make some sort of play in the field as Lewis is more of a flyball pitcher. So there will be more plays for Desmond and everyone in the outfield today. Ian Desmond is my player to watch for today.

Should be a good game with more runs scored by both sides. Hopefully the Rangers can win before they depart on a 7-game road trip to Anaheim this weekend then Seattle to start next week.

Go Rangers!!!!!!!