Texas Rangers’ Matt Harrison pleased at being part of rotation, aims at winning Game 3 – MLB Update
Texas Rangers’ Matt Harrison is all-set to start Game 3 of the World Series against St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday, October 22 at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington in a bid to give his team a head-start in the Fall Classic.
The first two games, played at Busch Stadium, were shared by both teams. Chris Carpenter influenced the Cardinals to a win in Game 1 while a ninth inning rally in Game 2 allowed the Rangers to edge the Redbirds and thus level the series at one-each.
Talking to reporters on the eve of Game 3, Harrison was all praise for team president Nolan Ryan, who has been inspirational for the team and especially for the bull-pen. Harrison stressed that being a pitcher himself, Ryan has talked to the bull-pen about
going deeper into games and to focus more on fitness. Harrison added that starters have been trained to become backbone of the pitching’ staff and Nolan has been a major advocate of it as well.
Harrison praised team-mate and rotation partner Colby Lewis for matching Cardinals’ Jaime Garcia in Game 2 and emphasised that the starter was essential in keeping the Redbirds at bay throughout the game. He added that with the series level at one-each,
the Rangers will be in a better position to counter the Cardinals at home.
After being left out of last year’s World Series roster, Harrison believes that this opportunity means a lot for him. The Rangers included him to the rotation during Spring Training Harrison stated that he was determined to keep the spot throughout the season.
“It's like a dream come true and I couldn't ask for more,” Harrison said. “I just hope I can go out there and do a good job and give us a chance to win tomorrow night.”
Harrison asserted that playing at home in a comfortable environment will be a huge benefit for him, but the offensive power of the Cardinals cannot be ruled out this early in the series.
The left-handed pitcher has a lot of similarities with team’s ace C.J. Wilson and aims at learning from his mistakes during Game 1 and then complying with the game plan.
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