Live Observations from Rangers 5-3 win in K.C.

Kansas City, Mo. - I remember attending a Rangers-Royals game at Kauffman Stadium in 2005 as a junior at the University of Kansas. Back in those days, I was probably one of the only fans at the K sporting Rangers gear.

Funny how times have changed.

This past Friday (8/3/12), it felt like Arlington North during a 5-3 Rangers victory over the Royals at the K. I suppose consecutive American League pennants will naturally grow a fan base's numbers, but I felt like holding up a sign that read, "I still have a Hank Blalock shirt-jersey."

It did feel pretty nice to see so many Rangers fans in attendance, serving as a reminder of how far the team has come in just a few years.

I decided to pay $60 per ticket. Through StubHub, I found two seats together in section 125, row R (pretty close to the visitors dugout). The view was pretty awesome.

Kauffman Stadium impresses me every time I go back for a game. After the stadium renovations in 2009, I've said for years that it's one of the nicest parks in America. The K is one of the more modern-looking stadiums I've seen in any sport, and I'm glad the country caught a glimpse of how nice it looked during the All-Star game in July. The concourses are clean, making the overall experience well worth the price of admission.

Here are my observations from the game from my seat in section 125:

• Mitch Moreland's three-run home run in the seventh inning looked like a titanic blast from where we were sitting. You knew it was history as soon as the bat made contact with the ball and fans from both sides ooh'ed and ahh'ed. Reports suggested the homer traveled 415 feet to the right-field fountains, but it seemed farther.
• Matt Harrison improved to 13-6 with 6.2 innings of two-run ball. He was nowhere near dominant (eight hits, three walks), but he induced outs when he needed to (the Royals left 12 on base). Harrison is your prototypical No. 3 starter. He won't take over games, but he sure won't lose many games either. It was a gutty performance. 
• Alexi Ogando pitched a clean ninth inning for the save, with Joe Nathan sidelined because of a dead arm. You have to wonder how long Nathan will be sidelined; "dead arm" does not strike me as a day-to-day situation, but I guess we'll find out in the coming days. If Nathan is sidelined for an extended amount of time, Ogando certainly displayed closer stuff on Friday, striking out two and hitting 99 mph at least twice when I looked up at the radar readings.
• Kansas City outhit Texas, 10-7, but the Rangers escaped a plethora of jams to end innings.
• The Rangers extended their winning streak to three games (it grew to four with Saturday's victory as well). Great to see after a miserable month of July (9-14).

All in all an enjoyable return to the K.