Game 131: Michael Young Comes Through

Michael Young has taken a lot of heat this season. And, with the rosters expanding to include Jurickson Profar, he will continue to get heat whenever he is in the lineup and Profar is not. Eric had a good round up of what to expect from Profar and I will have more on the subject (and the move to add Robbie Ross to the disabled list, bringing this post a little more to the forefront) later today.

However, in yesterday’s game, he came through with a pair of RBI singles to help the Rangers to a 5-3 win that wasn’t as close as the score would indicate. Koji Uehera gave up a two-run home run, then he got one out before being replaced by Joe Nathan who picked up the save.

Young will need to come through like he did yesterday to continue to deserve his playing time, but at the same time, he did leave 5 people on base in his other three at bats, so it wasn’t exactly a perfect night for him. This is just a blip, but it’s better that Young performs when he is in the line up as it doesn’t seem like there is a big chance he will sit much for the remainder of the season or the playoffs. He might as well be producing regardless of your personal thoughts on the matter.

Ryan Dempster was very good again, not allowing an earned run in 6 innings and improved to 4-1 with the Rangers, who are 5-1 in Dempster’s six starts. He is doing exactly what they brought him in to do, even if the process isn’t very pretty. Michael Kirkman pitched a very good two innings for the hold to bring the game to the ninth.

It was a game that the Rangers needed to win, against a struggling team with the surging A’s right behind them. They came through and didn’t allow the A’s or the Angels to gain on them. With September here, the Rangers can afford to give some of the young players like Profar, Mike Olt and Leonys Martin some playing time without too much pressure.