David Murphy hits a grand slam as Texas Rangers defeat Los Angeles Angels 11-7 – MLB Update
The Texas Rangers overpowered the Los Angeles Angels 11-7 in the first outing of the three-game series at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington on Friday, August 26.
The Rangers’ batting line-up joined hands with their pitcher Daren Holland to get their 75th win of the season to make the chances of the post-season more evident.
Holland started his spell with a shut-out inning and his fellow Nelson Cruz took an advantage of acquiring a RBI double for a 2-0 score game opening second inning. Holland held the opposition to no-score in the next innings and Cruz again contributed, this
time with a 461-feet huge home-run for one run in the fourth inning.
The Rangers were leading 3-0 in the fourth and the Angels’ starter Dan Haren keep on struggling to stabilise his pitching. However, the day proved a nightmare for him when he allowed a grand slam to David Murphy.
Murphy entered the plate with all the bases loaded, Michael Young on third, Mike Napoli on second and Nelson Cruz on first. Murphy hammered to right-field for a 392-feet grand slam to destroy the back-bone of the Angels.
"I think to this point in the season, every game from here on out is going to be our biggest game of the year," Murphy said. "We definitely showed up tonight and took a few days of frustration out and played a great game."
After this hit, the Angels’ manager Mike Scioscia called off Haren and employed Jerome Williams to complete the inning. Williams managed to escape in this inning but dropped in the next.
In the sixth, Mitch Moreland stroked to left-field, allowing Michael Young to score a run. With Mike Napoli on third and Mitch Moreland on first, Nelson Cruz entered the plate and struck a brilliant 417-feet homer to record his second of the game. This hit
took the Rangers to 11-0 at the end of the sixth inning.
Holland, on the other hand was crushing. He allowed his first run in the seventh inning to Brian Wilson. After realising the situation could change, the Rangers’ manager Ron Washington put off Holland and employed Yoshinori Tateyama to complete the inning.
"You throw (106) pitches in four innings, it takes a toll," Haren said. "Throwing 20 pitches every inning is tough enough and the weather makes it harder. I never got in a rhythm where I'd get a quick inning."
The Angels’ Mark Trumbo earned an RBI single in the eight before Ryan Branyan hammered a huge hit to send the ball deep into the stands for three runs. The score went to 11-5 in the eighth. Then Henley Kendrick also launched a two-run home-run to reduce
the lead to 11-7 but it was too late, as the Rangers had already made the game to their name.
This win will defiantly add power to Rangers bullpen in their journey to post-season.
Tags: