Murphy powered Rangers topple the Yankees in a 4 -3 thump
David Murphy has been a decent member of the Texas rangers for over two years. Being a regular squad figure and carrying a batting average of .271, this season, the player clearly does have his moments. However, his performance, last night showed why the Texas Rangers are going to be the closest contenders for the Western Division title in the American League this season.
They faced the strong and mighty New York Yankees, in last night’s game and their number 7 player delivered, giving the team a 1 – 0 lead in the two game series. With Mark Teixeira’s absence, the player got the chance to boom his team past the opponents with a 4 – 3 win.
Heading into the game with a loss in the previous game, the Rangers were looking for the right stage to boast morale in the squad and ensure the team was going to excel in the division. Christopher John Wilson stepped onto the mound for pitching duties. Having won 14 starts and losing 5, much was expected from the 29 year old. The previous series saw the team losing 2 -1 against the Oakland Athletics and the team now had to deal with the Eastern Division leaders to furthur complicate matters.
The Yankees, on the other hand, were short on morale as well. They’re defeat to the Boston Red Sox in their last series, drew the set and got them to a slow ending start. Mark Teixeira was missing from the line up as the hard hitter had taken some time off to tend to his new born son. Coming on to the pitch was, Allan James Burnett who had won 9 and had lost 8 games. The veteran ball thrower came back with a chance to reach a strike out figure of a whole 100, this season. The 33 year old was bringing in experience against a side that has been having an amazing season today.
The match began with 46,121 fans in the ball park, under clear sunny weather. The humidity prowled on a temperature of 98 degrees. There was little action in the first 3 innings as there were just two hits, with pitchers from both sides, doing their best to keep the lions in their cage. Things started shaping up in the top 4th as the Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez came onto the strike zone bag to receive Wilson’s throws. The master striker got to first base as a result of a throwing error by Elvis Andrus.
As Austin Kearns moved up to the first with a single down the left, Rodriguez moved to the second. However, another error came up as Michael Young made a caught stealing blooper which saw the Yank hitter move to third. That would be the last move from the veteran as Wilson would refocus on the strike zone and strike out Lance Berkman while getting Francisco Cervelli out on a flier to the centre.
Texas, surprisingly, would be the first ones to score in the bottom 4th, as Nelson Cruz would double to the deep centre, allowing second base holder, Young to score the first of the match with a sprint to the last base. The Yankees got back into action as Derek Jeter scored off a Nick Swisher double to the deep centre in the top 5th. The New York team would then take the lead with a Kearns run as Cervelli would single to the centre.
However, the lead would not last as Murphy made his way to the strike zone. The veteran smasher banged a 415 feet homer to the right, allowing himself and Vladimir Guerrero to score for the team, taking the lead by one run, in the end of the bottom 6th. The Yankees responded with none other than, Rodriguez, who hit a 422 feet homer to the centre, to put both teams on a deadlock in the top 8th.
A moment to break that tie would come off the bottom 9.2 innings, as David Murphy got onto the stage again to bang a single to the right centre and put Young on a second run for the night off Mariano Rivera. Rivera, the star reliever, faced his first defeat in 32 career appearances at the Rangers’ Ballpark, where he has been on two wins, no losses and 27 saves. This was a first for him as that spelled the New York team’s fate, losing 3 – 4 to the Rangers.
Rangers’ Wilson came off with 2 runs, 5 hits and 3 walks allowed in his 5.1 pitching exhibition. He threw the ball 96 times and struck out 5 players in the process. Burnett played for 7 innings and pitched 112 times; taking out 4 players, while giving away 6 hits, 3 runs and 2 walks.
The match was truly a possible playoff and the next match will carry much anticipation as well, when the teams lock horns again and compete in the great south. The question on everyone’s mind would have to be, Can the Texas Rangers do it again or was this just a lucky shot?
Tags: