IVAN RODRIGUEZ’S THREE-RUN HOMER LIFTS TEXAS OVER TORONTO
Eternal Baseball
TORONTO – Ivan Rodriguez had the biggest hit of the game (a three-run home run off Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay) but that wasn’t what the Rangers’ catcher wanted to talk about.
“I was so proud of how Kevin (Brown) fought his way out of trouble against a vicious Toronto lineup – and how about Johnny’s king-sized save?”
Texas ace Kevin Brown held Toronto scoreless before tiring in the seventh inning, but Neftali Feliz wrapped up the inning and John Wetteland recorded the last five outs for his first save as the Rangers doubled up the Blue Jays 4-2 on the first day of Spring Training.
Texas scored all their runs on homers, with Nelson Cruz connecting off Toronto’s Roy Halladay in the first inning on a 343-foot bomb to left field, and Ivan Rodriguez mashing a three-run homer to the exact same section of seats in fifth. Kevin Brown held the Blue Jays in check before seeming to run out of gas in the seventh inning. After securing two outs, Tony Fernandez cracked a double off the right field wall, and John Olerud caught up to a sinker that didn’t sink. Olerud’s titanic home run landed 466 feet away, well beyond the center-field wall to cut Texas’ lead to 4-2.
Josh Donaldson legged out an infield single that sent Brown to the showers. Neftali Feliz took over for the Rangers and induced an inning-ending groundout to second from Carlos Delgado.
Feliz remained in the game to begin the eighth inning, and was greeted rudely when Roberto Alomar ripped a single to right field. Feliz struck out George Bell, but then walked Jesse Barfield on four pitches. With the go-ahead run coming to thep late, Rangers skipper Ron Washington played his best card – summoning closer John Wetteland from the bullpen. The move paid immediate dividends, as Wetteland retired Ernie Whitt on a flyout to center and Tony Fernandez struck out looking. Weetlend pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning, freezing Jose Bautista on a called strike three to end the game and secure the 4-2 victory for Texas.
Roy Halladay (0-1) took the loss for Toronto (5.2 IP, 7 H, 4 EER, 4 BB, 6 K) while Kevin Brown (1-0) earned the win for Texas (6.2 IP, 10 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 K)
Tuesday night brings game two of this pre-season opening series. Texas sends out Right-hander Yu Darvish to face Toronto’s Dave Stieb. First pitch from Rogers Centre is at 7:05 PM EST.
Photo credit: Toronto Blue Jays by MountainSeekerII
Recent Comments