Game 2 of the four game series...
Andy Pettitte has 19 career starts against the Rangers and is 9-7. His ERA is 5.36 against the Rangers, who hit him for a .312 batting average. He hasn’t pitched against the Rangers this season, but had two starts against the Rangers last season, both in May, and went 1-0 with 13 innings, giving up only 3 runs.Andy took the loss against the Angels in his last start, getting hammered for 9 runs on 11 hits in 5.1 innings.
In Arlington, he is 2-3 in six starts and an 8.10 ERA. The Rangers hit him for a .340 batting average in Texas. Andy makes ½ a million per start (if he starts 32 games). Just thought I would throw that out there.
Rangers to Watch:
- Michael Young: 6-21 (.286 BA); 2 doubles and 5 RBIs
- Gerald Laird: 2-7 (.286 BA); 1 double and 1 RBI
The current Rangers roster is 18-67 (.269 BA) with 6 doubles, 1 triple, 1 HR, and 9 RBIs. The game should be very good, very competitive with good hits from the Rangers. Don’t expect Pettitte to get off easy in this one.
Harrison has five career starts. He’s really been a spot starter thus far, and debuted against the Angels on July 8th. He got slapped around in his second and third starts and has really started to settle in over his last two starts, but developing some control issues (8 walks over his last 9.2 innings). He’s given up a .313 batting average to his opponents and only has four strikeouts in 24.1 innings, so he really depends on a strong defense behind him. His groundball to flyball ratio is 47-34, so it is roughly 5 to 3 for him… which I guess isn’t terrible, but if he lacks a putout pitch, it could stand to be a little better.
Let’s just be honest: he’s going to get hit. How much, it is hard to say. We have two pitchers really to consider. We have the Harrison who went up against the Angels and A’s… and then we have the Harrison who went up against the White Sox and Twins. If we get the prior, the Rangers will win. If we get the latter, the Rangers lose. Pretty simple, right?
I guess the big concern is how Harrison’s walk count in each game has gone up with every start. If he can bring that down and get hitters to hit groundballs, then the Rangers win. And seeing as to how the Seattle game (his last start) was a 10-2 GB to FB, then the indication is that the Rangers can win this one.
Forecast: I'm really surprised the Rangers slap Pettitte pretty consistently. Harrison has been inconsistent. Still, I believe Harrison is going to be a little better than what Andy brings to the table. Score: 7-5, Rangers.
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