Hamilton + Guerrero = Rangers’ win
When a team has a likely Most Valuable Player (MVP) in its roster, it will be hard for a rival ball club to score victory over it with ease. That was the case on Sunday as the Baltimore Orioles finally lost the chase for a win in the series against the Texas Rangers. The side could not subdue the might of MVP candidate Josh Hamilton and Vladimir Guerrero as they banged a three home run each.
It wasn’t much to anyone’s surprise that this came out to be the case as the Baltimore were already flying high on cloud 9. With two wins over the Rangers, they needed one more to clinch the series 3-1. However, given the option pitcher Orioles brought in for the fixture, that wasn’t meant to be. But much to the credit of the team, they did look dangerous in recent days. Yesterday was just not lucky for them as they crashed to a split series result.
Fans wouldn’t have expected much going into the fixture as the management brought in Kevin Milwood to the pitching mound. Unfortunately for the veteran, his losses tally extended to 14. For a man who belted just 2 wins, many wondered why he featured in the game at all. The pitcher has never won a game against the Texas side anyways. The ball thrower came off the game with an expected beating. The strike zone banger was hit 6 times for 6 runs. While pitching 80 times in 6 innings, the player struck 2 players out and walked 2.
As for the Texas ball club, things were looking grim before the game with the Orioles even began. The side lost their last series to the Tampa Bay Rays and fans were concerned about their recent form. Being swept off the competing stage in a 3 game sweep by the Rays, the Rangers badly needed to win. However, 3 more games down and they were on the verge of losing this set too. It took great hitting from Josh Hamilton and Vladimir to make the right difference on the score.
The Rangers brought on Tommy Hunter for pitching duties and that was going to help the side a lot as they looked to mum the Orioles strikers during the match. It can be easily stated that this fixture could have gone either way if it was not for the depth in attack and defence that Texas exhibited. Hunter came into the match with a 9 win and 2 loss record. The 24-year-old has had a decent Earning Run Average of 3.68, compared to Millwood’s 5.63. The ball thrower pitched 95 times in his 8 innings of play. He also managed to strike out just one player. The best thing about the ace man was his allowance rate. He conceded 5 hits of which 3 were runs.
Josh Hamilton took the scoring initiative to full gear when he smashed a triple run, 395 feet home run to the centre, getting Elvis Andrus and Michael Young through the last base without difficulty. This added the 3 runs in the top 1st and cracked the game open. The Orioles replied in the bottom 4th with Brian Roberts, who scored from Nick Markakis’ single to the right centre.
It wasn’t till the 3 Texas – 1 Baltimore score line changed when Guerrero also smashed a triple run, 367 feet homer to the left. Julio Borbon and Hamilton were easy riders for the hit and put two runs alongside the homer. This brought 6 runs on the board and the Orioles lagging far behind.
The Orioles then found their opportunity in the bottom 16th when Luke Scott banged a 2-run, 431 feet homer to the right. The hitter got himself and Ty Wigginton on the score sheet with the shot. As the bottom 9th came into session, the Rangers were still leading by 3 runs and it was up to the underdogs to respond. Wigginton sprung into action and slammed a 409 feet homer to the right centre for the 4th Orioles run. Unfortunately, that was the last effort that came, as the Rangers responded quickly, with good pitching, finishing the game with a victory by 2 runs.
The Rangers lead the Baltimore club, 6-4. However, the win was anything but a comfortable endeavour for the Texas side. One can only imagine what might transpire in the future when the team goes against the Minnesota Twins, today.
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