I started with attending Sunday's game (July 25) against the Angels with my brother and my mom. Texas, behind 6.1 solid innings from Tommy Hunter, improved to 58-41 on the season with a 6-4 victory. This one was really great to watch.
It had been a few years since my brother and I had attended a game together. With him living in Denver and me in Lawrence, it's not always easy to coordinate trips to the ballpark. When we both lived in Texas, or when we both spent time in Plano during summer breaks from college, it was easy to spend several nights in Arlington. Now, we have to make due with that little aspect of life called the real world.
Getting back to our familiar territory — the underrated upper deck (section 318, seats 15-16-17) — was really enjoyable.
We lucked out with dollar ice cream night as well. They didn't run out, either, which was pretty impressive. I didn't get my ice cream — the drumstick chocolate goodness with the vanilla ice cream filling — until the sixth inning, and they seemed to have plenty left. Not bad for an attendance of 38,320 (77.9 percent full).
Few observations I recall from the game:
• Josh Hamilton, what planet are you playing ball on? Yikes. The guy went 3-for-4 with three RBIs. He legged out a triple on one of the more interesting hits I've seen. Hamilton laced a ball in between second and first base that reached the alley. But it wasn't close to being a line drive to the gap. It was literally a roped ground ball that was hit so hard that it split the Angels outfielders. I've never seen that. After Sunday's game, Hamilton's average sat at .357. Chants of "MVP!" sprinkled around the stadium by his final at-bat. If the season ended today, Hamilton would have a legitimate case (.362 average, 23 HR, 75 RBI, 7 SB). Ridiculous.
• Tommy Hunter improved to 8-0 with the victory. For a No. 4 starter, he's done more than I would have imagined at the start of the season. Remember, Hunter didn't make his first start with the team until June 5. That's two months that he could have had to put more wins together. As long as he doesn't try to do too much — I don't think he'll ever be a power pitcher — he should be fine. Take notes from Cliff Lee. Location and throwing strikes can take pitchers a long way.
• Elvis Andrus made a highlight defensive play from shortstop. His defensive instincts are my favorite part of watching Rangers games. Andrus is the best defensive player I've ever seen, and he showed it on this night when he made a diving stop to his right, collected himself, and fired a bullet to first base to complete the out. I had been telling Dave about Andrus' defensive wizardry for some time, so I'm glad he got to see it first-hand. After the play, we all stood up and applauded the effort. I think I even did the fabled 'we're not worthy' motion from the upper deck.
• I mentioned on an earlier blog that our lineup of one through six, when healthy, is the best in team history. Andrus-Young-Kinsler-Guerrero-Hamilton-Cruz went a combined 12-for-26 (.462) with five RBIs on this night. No big flies from any Ranger player this game, but we still racked up 13 hits.
• Neftali Feliz closed it out for his 28th save.
Game 2:
Two days later (Tuesday, July 27), the Big 12 took media members covering the conference's media days event to the Rangers-A's game. This was the whole reason I was in town in the first place. Texas won the game, 3-1 in 10 innings.
This was a sweet deal. As the Big 12's guests for the night, media members had access to the ballpark's Diamond Club level (section 202). It's a beautiful part of the stadium. Located in center field, overlooking the outfield home run patio out there. You can hang out inside the suite, catch the game from the outside balcony or sit in section 202, which is in the outfield. The outside balcony was where I spent most of my time. It's a great view, as you can see from this photo below:
My reaction from Tuesday's game:
• Cliff Lee stole the show, even though he didn't record a decision. The southpaw went his customary nine innings, allowed his customary zero walks and struck out a career-high 13. The guy was dealing. Since the strikeout total was a little higher than usual, it took Lee 113 pitches to get through nine. Still super efficient. The crowd went nuts in the ninth when Lee made a plea with manager Ron Washington to leave him in the game to record the final out of the inning. Washington, after visiting the pitcher's mound to make an apparent call to the bullpen, left Lee out there to a rousing ovation from the 28,124 in attendance (not quite sure why there were 10,000 fewer fans for this game; probably the middle of the week).
Game time: 3:02. Even with the extra frame. Gotta love games when Lee starts. He now has an absurd 114 strikeouts versus seven walks (9-4, 2.40 ERA) on the year...seven walks! Never seen anything like it.
• Nelson Cruz smashed a walk-off home run in the 10th inning to seal the victory. The atmosphere was awesome. The Rangers improved to 59-41 after this game and held an eight-game lead in the AL West, the largest lead of any team in baseball.
This season is shaping up to be one of the most memorable in team history. It's been great I've been able to attend three of them. Hoping to make it more by the end of the season if and when we make the postseason for the first time in 11 years.
