Bound for Kauffman Stadium tomorrow for Rangers-Royals

Before attending a Texas Rangers game in person, whether it's at the Ballpark in Arlington or on the road, an important decision has to be made with respect to my choice of apparel.

That will be the case on Thursday, when I travel to Kansas City, Mo. to watch the Rangers take on the Royals. First pitch is set for 7:10 p.m. (mound matchup: Derek Holland vs. Luke Hochevar).

I have two tickets in section 410, Row A, seats 3 and 4. Should be a fun time. Kauffman Stadium is a great place to take in a baseball game. So what will be my choice of Rangers gear?

Well ... it's fair to say I have quite a few options.



I think I'll probably go with the red AL West Division champions T-shirt with the Titleist Rangers hat. I don't really have a method or superstition when picking out gear for the game. Just whatever I feel like at the time.

I'm thrilled that my mom is visiting from Texas to attend the game with me.

It's great fun with mom in Lawrence. We started the trip with 715 for lunch. I highly recommend the apple pecan salad, cauliflower soup (may not sound good, but it's amazing) and the four-cheese pizza. We had Mad Greek for dinner, one of the more underrated restaurants in Lawrence. I wish more places around town had lentil soup. I can only seem to find it at Mad Greek, and it was plenty tasty, along with the chicken and pork combo dish I had.

Naturally, the Rangers will be a major part of mom's visit. We watched Wednesday night's 5-4 escape of a victory in 11 innings over the Royals at the Eldridge Hotel bar. Wednesday at the Eldridge is jazz night, and we thoroughly enjoyed hearing live music while taking in the game action.

Alexi Ogando (7 IP, 2 ER, BB, 5 K's) continued his seamless transition from reliable reliever to scintillating starter for Texas.

Kansas City brought up 23-year-old southpaw Danny Duffy to start, and he showed promise (4 K's in 4 IP), but walked six and didn't last too long.

K.C. first baseman/stud prospect Eric Hosmer destroyed an inside fastball on Neftali Feliz's first pitch of the ninth inning to tie the game. Feliz consistently hit 98 mph in the ninth frame, but his location was way too scattered.

Reliever Mark Lowe converted the save, giving up one run in the 11th. He walked one and struck out two. Lowe's final strikeout, a filthy fastball that started outside the left portion of the strike zone and had heavy tailing action back toward the plate, made me wonder why he hasn't been more consistent in the past. Lowe looked pretty solid on Wednesday — his fastball topped out at 99 mph — and if he can keep his control in check, he could develop into a semi-legitimate option at the back of the bullpen. The Rangers are sorely seeking a right-handed set-up man. Injuries and ineffectiveness have prohibited the bullpen from being reliable this year. The pen has easily been the most vulnerable aspect of the team.

After Wednesday night's slate, the Rangers leaped back into first place at 23-20, one game up on Oakland, 1.5 games ahead of Anaheim and 4.5 up on Seattle.

Tomorrow will be fun. I'm excited to watch the team in person for the first time this year. Time to head down I-70 east and enjoy some live baseball.