Chickens on the Run: Game 126: Texas vs. Detroit

I changed the Rangers colors to two shades of red. Maybe they will get hot in this series. I have come to terms of the Rangers being out of the Wild Card race. It's one of those things. I simply have a wish of finishing the season over the 500 mark. Is that too much to ask?

Today, the Rangers start a three game series with the Tigers. Here are my QP predictions...

Game 1: Scott Feldman (4-5, 5.18 ERA) vs. Kenny Rogers (8-10, 4.95 ERA)

Well, it is always a homecoming for Kenny to pitch in Texas. I personally like the Tigers in this game because the Ballpark is never a visiting park for Rogers.

Game 2: Vicente Padilla (12-6, 4.85 ERA) vs. Armando Galarraga (11-4, 3.10 ERA)

I like Galarraga's numbers over Padilla's numbers. But Padilla normally does better at home than on the road, if my memory is right. So, I am going to go with Padilla and the Rangers for this one.

Game 3: Kevin Millwood (6-7, 5.58 ERA) vs. Nate Robertson (7-9, 5.87 ERA)

This really looks like a battle of the bad yet lucky. Both have ERAs over 5.50 and they are just under 500 for their personal records. I am gunning for Millwood on this one due to home field advantage...

Rogers got hammered in his last start against the Rangers, giving up 6 runs off of 9 hits in 3.1 innings. And despite the bad performance, he didn't take the loss. Career wise, the Rangers hit him for a .297 batting average. Despite that, Rogers is still 6-3 with a 4.24 ERA against Texas. The last performance against Texas was earlier this season, on April 23rd. Since that game, Rogers has gone 7-7 and has lowered his ERA from 7.66 down to the 4.62 that it is now.

Rogers is 5-6 on the road this season.

Rangers to Watch:

Michael Young: 11-19 (.579 BA); 4 doubles, 1 HR, and 5 RBIs
Gerald Laird: 9-15 (.600 BA); 1 triple and 2 RBIs
Milton Bradley: 5-12 (.417 BA); 2 doubles and 2 RBIs
Ian Kinsler: 5-12 (.417 BA); 2 doubles and 4 RBIs

The current Ranger roster is batting 41-90 (.456 BA) with 11 doubles, 1 triple, 1 HR and 17 RBIs. The Rangers OBP is almost 500 being at .495... this could be ugly for Rogers.

Feldman has never started against the Tigers but has 7 innings against them in relief. Those appearances have totalled 6 runs on 11 hits (2 HRs) and 6 walks. That comes to a 7.71 ERA and a .367 BA. Feldman has a 1-2 record at home, but a better ERA in Arlington with a 4.57 mark. Not only has Feldman not started against the Tigers, he has not pitched against them this season, either.

Feldman has struggled of late, getting ripped by Boston, but not grabbing the loss in that game, yet still has gone 0-2 in his last four starts, giving up a total of 23 runs in 20 innings in the process.

So, how will Detroit do? They should still do pretty good. The current Tiger roster is 8-19 with 2 HRs and 6 RBIs.

Forecast: Both come into this game under 500. Detroit is 60-64 and the Rangers are 62-63. Both should score a mess of runs and whipe out the bullpen... I think I will stick with the QP and say the Tigers win this thing 12-9. Yuck.