Rangers Roller-Coaster Road Trip Ends with a 4-5 Record

Coming out of the All-Star Game the Texas Rangers were a team contending for the division and wild card in the American League.

Comeback story of the year and human highlight reel, Josh Hamilton brought down the house that Ruth built during the Home Run Derby.

Rangers All-Star's Hamilton, Milton Bradley, Michael Young, and Ian Kinsler all had productive outings in the Midsummer Classic.  Which included Young's game-winning sacrifice fly in the 15th inning.

Going into the second half of the season the Rangers had a 50-46 record, 7.5 games behind the AL West leading Angels, six games out of the wild card, and 1.5 games behind the second place in the AL West, the Oakland Athletics.

The team's front office still needed to decide whether or not the Rangers were going to make a push for the postseason this year.

A nine-game road trip to Minnesota, Chicago, and Oakland would more than likely give general manager Jon Daniels a better feel for the teams position and chances of making the playoffs.

The Rangers first stop from the All-Star Game was in Minnesota and they put the teams designated ace, Kevin Millwood up against Twins youngster Glen Perkins.

Through six innings the Twins held a slight 2-0 lead, Perkins would leave the game allowing only three hits.  The Twins eventually got the best of Millwood, scoring four runs in the seventh and the bullpen pitched three perfect innings against the Rangers.

It was the first shutout of the season and the Rangers were the last team in the Majors to have not been shutout this season.

In game two, the Rangers gave up a first inning run, but got on the scoreboard, themselves with Chris Davis's seventh home run, a two-run shot in the second inning.

But for the Rangers, that would be all the offense and rookie pitcher Matt Harrison would struggle from there.  Harrison final numbers five innings, nine hits, and eight runs (all earned).

The Rangers bullpen did not fare any better, and the Twins eventually won the game 14-2.  The Rangers offense, best in the Majors, was currently held to two runs in 18 innings since the break, and being outscored 20-2.  The Rangers four offensive All-Stars were a combined 4-30 in their first two games since the break.

Needing something to go the team's way in the third game and attempt to avoid a three-game sweep, the Rangers got their answer from team ace Vicente Padilla.

Padilla recorded seven shutout innings, allowing only three hits and two walks.  Set-up man Eddie Guardado and closer C.J. Wilson each pitched scoreless innings ensuring the Rangers victory.

The Rangers offense came sololy from recently promoted catcher Taylor Teagarden.  In the sixth inning Teagarden hit his first career Major League home run, a solo shot that was the only run of the game.

In the three game series, the Rangers were outscored 20-3, their four All-Stars went a combined 5-40, all three runs were scored by players not of the team less than a month ago, yet the team left Minnesota with at least one win.

Next step, series two in Chicago for three games.

Going into the series, the team had three new questions to answer; was Josh Hamilton in post-Home Run Derby slump, would newly returned Hank Blalock find his swing again, and when would the offense bust out of their team slump?

In the third inning Hamilton answered the first question with a two out, 2-0 pitch, with two runs on, blast to right field.  It was Hamilton's 22nd home run and brought his RBI total to 98.

In the eighth inning, Blalock answered the next question with a two-run homer, his fourth of the season and first since returning to the lineup.

Starting pitcher Scott Feldman had another quality start going six innings and allowing only one run to score.  The Rangers added another insurance run in the ninth and won 6-1.  With the six runs, eight hits, and three walks, the Rangers offense seemed to answer the final question and get their offense back on track.

After back-to-back superb outings from Rangers' starters Padilla and Feldman, Texas seemed due for a tough outing, and starter Luis Mendoza and reliever Dustin Nippert shouldered the bad outing.  In a combined eight innings the two gave up ten runs (all earned), twelve hits, and walked five.

White Sox starter Mark Buerhle went 7.1 innings, allowing only a solo home run to Chris Davis, his eighth of the season.  The Rangers added another run, but eventually lost the game 10-2.

In the rubber match, the Rangers had problems right off the bat.  After scoring a first inning run, Millwood allowed three in the first and then was pulled before he finished two innings, with an apparent injury.

The Ranger offense did their part, lighting up White Sox starter Clayton Richard, making his Major League debut, for five runs in seven innings of work.

The game entered the bottom of the eighth inning and the Rangers held a comfortable 8-3 lead.  Then everything went sour.

Guardado and Wilson eventually combined to complete the inning, but not before giving up five runs, highlighted by a Carlos Quentin three-run homer off Wilson.

Bobby Jenks would enter the game and get the save for the White Sox and the series win.

The Rangers had the next day off and stayed in Chicago for the extra day, with their day off a handful of players all went together to go see The Dark Knight before the team took off for their final destination, Oakland.

In the first game of the series, Ranger ace Padilla flew threw two innings, but ran into trouble in the third.  Allowing five A's to cross the plate before getting out of the inning.

However, in the top of the fourth, behind the "Mojo" of seeing The Dark Knight, the Ranger offense came alive.  Texas answered Oakland's five runs with five of their own, highlighted by two two-run homers from David Murphy (14) and Josh Hamilton (23).  Hamilton's home run gave him triple digits in the RBI category, with an even 100.

After adding another run in the seventh, the Ranger offense came alive in the ninth inning.

Chris Davis started the run scoring with his ninth home run, a two-run shot.  After a single from Jarrod Saltalamacchia and a walk from Ian Kinsler, Michael Young hit a ground-rule double scoring Salty. 

After Oakland intentionally walked Josh Hamilton, Kinsler scored on a passed ball, and Milton Bradley drawing a walk.  Blalock drove in two more with a single to center, followed by an RBI double from Marlon Byrd.

Murphy grounded out to first scoring the final run of the inning.  Eight runs, six hits, three walks, and a Davis home run increased the Ranger lead from one to 14-5.

After a final run from the A's, the Rangers took the first game of the series 14-6.

The Rangers started out of the gate in this game quickly, scoring three runs in the second behind back-to-back run scoring doubles from Salty and Davis.

In the third the Rangers gave back two of the runs, but responded back in the fifth.  Josh Hamilton stroked a three-run home run, increasing his home run total to 24 and RBI total to 103.

Oakland cut into the four-run deficit with a run in the bottom of the inning, but the Rangers got two back in the seventh.  Davis' 10th home run of the season, a solo shot, and a RBI single from Young.

A Byrd home run in the eighth gave the Rangers their ninth run, Oakland got one back in the bottom of the ninth, but the Rangers held on to win 9-4.

Oakland ace Justin Duchscherer had not allowed more than two earned runs in his last eleven outings, gave up eight earned in six innings of work.

In game three of the series, the Rangers looked to try and sweep the A's for the third time this season would eventually fall short again.

Ranger starter Eric Hurley did not have anything good in the outing, allowing all six runs to score in only two innings of work.  The bullpen pitched six scoreless innings in attempts for another five-run deficit comeback win.

Texas would get four runs in the fifth inning, highlighted by a three-RBI double from Blalock, but the rally would stop there.

The A's bullpen would combine for 4.1 innings of shutout baseball to stump the Rangers chances of sweeping the A's.

The road trip ended with a losing record of 4-5, but the Rangers took some good news from the trip.  After allowing 20 runs in two games, the team only gave up one in the next two games.  The team responded to the blown win when the bullpen gave up five runs in the eighth inning, by coming out in their next game and winning 14-6.

The biggest news coming out of the road trip was GM Jon Daniels telling the media that he will not dismantle the youth of the Rangers in order to rent a player for this year.

With that, now the Rangers might look toward trading away some veterans players for youthful pitching.  Players mentioned to possibly be on the move over the next few days range from the catchers Gerald Laird and Salty to third baseman Blalock and even including starting pitchers Millwood and Padilla.

The Rangers return home, with the most home games in all of baseball in the second half of the season, with a four-game series with the Mariners, three with Toronto, and wrapping up with a four-game series against the Yankees.