Game 88: Rangers vs. Twins

Gosh, I really haven't done much posting on here in a good while. Harper's Island is done. All but four characters died. The killer was revealed. I won't spoil it for those who read this. It's a good watch. I recommend getting the season on DVD and watching it all the way through. Very cool series. The top set is from a month ago. The bottom is coming into today. The Rangers are 11-12 over the last month. The Angels are 15-8 during that same stretch. Seattle is 14-10. And who cares about Oakland.

This is a three game series. The scheduled starters for the series are:

• Game 1: Padilla vs. Perkins
• Game 2: Feldman vs. Baker
• Game 3: Holland vs. Liriano

And then the next series against the Red Sox:

• Game 1: Millwood vs. Smoltz
• Game 2: Undecided vs. Beckett
• Game 3: Padilla vs. Buchholz

Matt Harrison could be starting the second game against the BoSox, although it really is undecided.

Scouting Report (from MLB.com - additions mine):

Twins: A high fever pushed Perkins' most recent start back three days and he came out looking a bit rusty after the extra time off. Perkins lasted just 4 1/3 on Saturday against the White Sox, giving up five runs on eight Chicago hits. The loss came after a pair of quality starts where Perkins went seven innings and notched wins against St. Louis and Kansas City on the road. Perkins is 2-0 with a 1.12 ERA lifetime against the Rangers.

Rangers to Watch:

• Marlon Byrd is 2-6 with a double.
• Jarrod Saltalamacchia is 1-3 with a RBI.

The current Ranger roster is 5-39 off Perkins with a double and a RBI. Young and Hamilton both have hits in six at bats against Perkins. This could be bad.

Rangers: Padilla will be making his first start since July 8, marking just his second outing in 17 days. He went eight days in between his last two starts due to shoulder soreness. Padilla allowed one run on eight hits in six innings his last time out, but had to leave when he tried to barehand a one-hopper. The ball bruised his palm a little bit, but he's fine and should be good to go against the Twins. The right-hander is 3-2 lifetime against Minnesota with a 2.63 ERA.

The Rangers are 7-3 in his last ten starts, while Padilla is 6-2 during that stretch.

Twins to Watch:

• Michael Cuddyer is 5-14 (.357) with a HR and RBI.
• Delmon Young is 4-12 with three RBIs.
• Carlos Gomez is 3-6 with a HR and three RBIs.

The Twins as a whole are 30-124 (.242 - current roster), with five doubles, two HRs, and twelve RBIs.

Forecast: Dang it, I like the Twins in this game. Padilla is a strong point for the Rangers rotation, but Perkins really does own the Rangers, which is why they are starting him against Padilla. You can look at Padilla's numbers historically and it won't give you a realistic indication of what he will do tonight, simply because he is having a better season that what he has does in previous years. Even knowing that Padilla is doing better than normal, Perkins still owns the Rangers, so my prediction is based solely on Perkins and not what Padilla will do. Padilla will more than likely keep things interesting, but Perkins will be the pitcher of the night. Rangers drop this one, 3-1.

And as a side note, I wasn't able to ask my question to Chris Davis. Sorry. I tried. The next "Meet the Rangers" should be coming up pretty soon, and I will post that as soon as the information comes in to me.

Home Plate