Ron Washington pulls off a successful ploy in the ninth to ensure Texas Rangers victory
With the first game of the series coming to an end, the Texas Rangers took their time to reflect on their encounter against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Rangers’ manager, Ron Washington, was able to reveal what his major concern in the contest had
been. The skipper cited Miguel Cabrera as a bigger threat than Victor Martinez.
This perspective is one of the reasons why the Texans closer, Neftali Feliz, adopted a cautious strategy. The relief pitcher walked Cabrera and pitched to Martinez, instead. The visiting Rangers were 2 – 0 up in Detroit and wanted things to remain that way.
Neftali was successful in punching down the first two hitters from the Tigers, but Ryan Raburn restored some hope with a double to the right.
With Cabrera up, Feliz moved him to first base after which he got Martinez to ground at second.
"I had to pick my poison, and I didn't want Cabrera taking us to extra innings. Martinez is a good hitter and I have respect for him, but he's not swinging the bat well. He could have caught one and won the ballgame, but I decided to take my chances. I didn't
want Cabrera tying that game."
The logical choice for Washington had to be Martinez. He was 0-for-3 in the game, while Cabrera was 2-for-3.
"I think the answer is very simple: They did what they felt gave them the best chance to win the game," Detroit Manager Jim Leyland said. "And that's what you do as a manager. If they felt that was their best chance to win the game, then that's what they
should do."
For that reason, Leyland gives the Rangers a lot of credit. He elaborated his position on the way things worked out. While the Detroit skipper feels Martinez was in the right position to hit and bring up a RBI, he could not deny that the Rangers felt their
best shot was against the former Boston Red Sox catcher.
Leyland nevertheless, does claim that it looked like Feliz was cautiously pitching to the designated hitter.
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