Texas Rangers avoid Philadelphia Phillies sweep with 2-0 victory – MLB Update
The Texas Rangers managed to avoid a series sweep against the Philadelphia Phillies with a 2-0 victory at Citizens Ball Park, Philadelphia on Sunday, May 22.
After two consecutive defeats in the inter league three game series against the Phillies, the Rangers decided that it was time to finally pull up their socks. The previous defeat they suffered was at the hands of Cliff Lee, an ex-Ranger who played a vital
part in leading the team to the World Series finals just some months ago, must have triggered them.
After being out pitched by the Phillies in the last game, the Rangers decided to take a chance on Matt Harrison and called him on the mound where he has been winless in his previous five starts. That streak finally came to an end when he went up against
the Phillies and their lackluster offense. His five hitter was carried into the ninth inning which played a considerable part in the Rangers win.
Although he managed to get the win, Harrison was not impressive in his pitching. He struck-out three and walked an equal number, as he pitched for 117 pitches. However, he did manage to put in a decent performance to set up the victory for his team.
Roy Oswalt who was pitching from the Phillies side lost for the first time in Citizens Bank Park. Previously he was 6-0 in his eight starts. During the match he managed to strike-out three and walk two. Oswalt did acknowledge the fact that their teams offence
was slumping by saying, "You've just got to hit your spots a little bit better, and you’ve got to kind of dance of between raindrops out there. You can't give up too many hits in one inning."
The first run from the Texas came in the sixth inning as Mitch Moreland doubled to left-field and Michael Young scored. The next run came soon after in the eighth inning as Craig Gentry sacrificed and Adrian Beltre scored moving Mike Napoli to second base.
Like usual, the Phillies’ offence came under harsh criticism. Roy Halladay and Lee carried the previous two games on their shoulders without much backing from the offence, but Oswalt could not pull it off this time around.
The Rangers managed to avoid a sweep by the Phillies, but it will be interesting to see how they carry their winning momentum forward. The Phillies put in a good performance, but it was not enough to claim a victory.
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