Derek Holland pitched a gem in his season debut. Texas crushed a season-high five home runs, and pounded out a season-high 17 hits.
Those elements added up to a 10-1 victory over Oakland on Wednesday and kept us in first place in the AL West.
We had good seats in section 325. It may sound weird, loving seats in the upper deck and all, but I actually prefer it in Arlington. There's no threat of foul balls, so you can relax while taking in the action. Our seats were behind home plate; the view was excellent. Didn't feel like we were disconnected from the field.
I've been sitting in the third deck for many years. My brother Dave and I used to sit in section 312, in between home plate and third base, regularly. The tickets are more affordable, and the action's just as good.
My fondest recollections from Wednesday:
• The stadium crew does a nice job of keeping the ballpark clean. The crew is also very friendly in welcoming you to the park, bidding farewell after the game and helping fans find their seats. It makes the experience more enjoyable.
• Before the George Bush Turnpike opened, it used to take us 45 minutes to get to the ballpark from my parents' house in Plano. I timed it on Wednesday: 35 minutes. The Bush turnpike has to be my favorite highway in Dallas.
• The new shirt that I sported to the game, a powder blue tee with the old-school logo, seemed to work out.
• Dollar hot dog night played a large role in getting 26,625 fans out on a Wednesday night. Not a huge turnout, but for mid-week, not bad. I did not take part in the food promotion (we ate Saltgrass before the game since it's so close to the ballpark on Interstate 30), but the cookies n cream ice cream in the sixth inning hit the spot. I washed out the Rangers helmet it came in and kept it. I'm a 5-year-old at heart.
• Holland's outing had me more excited than the five home runs, 17 hits and 10 runs scored. The dutch oven, as he's called, went six innings, allowing five hits, no runs and only one walk. He struck out seven. With Holland pitching like he did on Wednesday, it makes me think we might have the pitching rotation to win the West. C.J. Wilson is pitching like an All-Star and is second in the AL with a 1.48 ERA. Colby Lewis is second in the AL with 49 strikeouts in 45 innings. I expect Scott Feldman to improve as the season progresses. Rich Harden has been maddeningly inconsistent, but I'm starting to feel pretty good about four of the five arms in the rotation.
• OK, so the home run derby was pretty sweet. Especially when you're witnessing it live. I had a feeling we were going to light up Gio Gonzalez. In the first inning alone, all four batters that stepped to the plate hit the ball extremely hard. We're talkin' frozen ropes to the outfield that happened to be caught. Gonzalez lasted only four innings after throwing what had to be a plethora of beach balls. The back-to-back jacks by Josh Hamilton and Vlad Guerrero in the fifth inning had to be the most exciting aspects of the home run clinic. Justin Smoak, Max Ramirez and Michael Young also hit home runs.
Overall, a great night to return to Arlington.
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