| Douglas Benton. 5th April, 2011 - 2:15 am
 A season opening series between two of the projected leaders in the American League turned into a Texas showcase with the Rangers sweeping Boston while hitting 11 home runs as a team. In a new installment this year at RealGM, we will break down the full series for what players stood out, trends to follow and much more.
Game 1: Texas beat Boston 9-5
Game 2: Texas beat Boston 12-5
Game 3: Texas beat Boston 5-1
Texas Rangers
Right fielder Nelson Cruz hit a home run in each of the three games to lead the offensive attack for the Rangers. Cruz is on the ascension to being one of the best power hitters in the corner outfielder slot with his career high in home runs being 33 in 2009. While this is a tough line-up for opposing pitchers to navigate through, another true power threat along with Josh Hamilton will open things up even more.
Ian Kinsler may be the best player in baseball nobody talks about. He has the versatility to hit in multiple positions in the line-up, but manages the lead-off role for Texas. He also had a home run in each game in going a combined 4-for-9 with five runs scored and three RBI.
After some talk of moving to the starting rotation, closer Neftali Feliz threw two perfect innings over the weekend with two strikeouts. The appearances weren't in save situations, but he did get outs against David Ortiz, Carl Crawford and Jacoby Ellsbury in throwing 18 out of 30 pitches for strikes. From the starting rotation, left-hander Matt Harrison had the team's best outing on Sunday with seven innings of one run ball. He gave up five hits and two walks (1.00 WHIP) with eight strikeouts. He was decent in his pitch distribution with 108 pitches and pounded the strike zone in throwing 65 percent of his pitches for strikes.
It will be interesting to see how manager Ron Washington handles the bat of Matt Napoli this year. The power hitter C/DH had two starts in the series in going 4-for-6 with two home runs and four RBI. With a defensive catcher in Yorvit Torrealba and Michael Young manning the designated hitter spot, the best option looks to getting him most of his at-bats at first base. How will that affect infield defense?
Boston Red Sox
The much talked about starting pitching for Boston was hammered in the opening series, which has led to early season worry. Opening day saw ace Jon Lester get tagged with three home runs in giving up five total runs in 5.1 innings. The next day, John Lackey didn't make it through four innings before giving up 10 hits, two walks and nine runs in a blowout loss. Clay Buchholz pitched better in the finale, but was hit hard with four home runs. With questions on the back end of the rotation, this isn't the start the Red Sox needed.
Carl Crawford is off to a slow start at the plate for his new team in going just 2-for-11 with five strikeouts. He hit in the three spot for the first two games before being dropped to No. 7 on Sunday. His best attribute he can bring (speed) is negated if he can't get on base.
David Ortiz struggled with slow starts in recent years, but the atmosphere in Texas appeared to suit him just fine. He went 4-for-12 with two home runs and four RBI. New first baseman Adrian Gonzalez also was solid in going 5-for-13. Even with Crawford's struggles, this projects as one of the top line-ups in baseball.
The backend of the bullpen has a pair of inconsistent arms with Bobby Jenks and Jonathan Papelbon and the duo started the season with mixed results. In non-pressure situations, Jenks pitched a perfect innings in throwing eight out of 10 pitches for strikes. Papelbon struck out the side on Sunday, but not before giving up two hits, a walk and a run. |
