Counter Tactics fail in the seventh inning as Texas Rangers manager admits failure on bringing in Craig Gentry and Esteban German
The Texas Rangers lost 3 – 2 to the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 1 of the World Series at the Busch Stadium in St. Louis on Wednesday, October 19. The encounter had a chance for the Rangers to gain an early lead in the competition but they lost the bid in
a close fight with the National League Champions. The team particularly looked healthy in the seventh inning with two men on bases but Cards’ reliever Marc Rzepczynski got the job done with two critical strikeouts.
The game would have played out well for the Rangers if their manager’s tactical shift had paid off. Manager Ron Washington was supposed to send in David Murphy to face the left hand pitcher. He however opted to send in Craig Gentry and Esteban German. Both
hitters were right handed. The Cardinals manager Tony La Russa did not flinch as his hurler cancelled out the threat by striking out both the hitters.
Nelson Cruz was on second base, while Mike Napoli had been walked over to the first base. Things could have turned out well for the Rangers but the Cardinals held their ground. La Russa could have also brought in right hand reliever Octavio Dotel but he
kept his faith in Rzepczynski, all the way through.
"Righty against a lefty," Washington said. "I thought he had a good chance against Rzepczynski with the breaking stuff he threw. He beat us. That's all there is to it.
"Gentry, generally when I take the outfielder out, which was Murphy, he's usually the guy I put in there. I thought Gentry had a pretty good swing; Rzepczynski beat him. And in German's case, he's a contact hitter. I thought, 'He can handle Rzepczynski's
off - speed stuff.' He beat us. You know, they beat us tonight."
The Rangers were closely beaten by the Cardinals, but the contest has just had its first game. The Rangers still have a few more matches to go and with Colby Lewis coming in to attack from the mound in Game 2, anything can happen for the Texans. If they
can win on Friday, they will be tied 1 – 1 in the series.
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