And Then There Were The A’s, Again

Sep 27, 2012; Arlington, TX, USA; Texas Rangers rookie infielder Jurickson Profar in the dugout during the game against the Oakland Athletics at Rangers Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

The Texas Rangers are coming off of a great series against the Tigers where they won three out of four at home. The game last night was a bit crazy, and it took what seemed like twenty-two hours or so. Either way, when you are able to take three out of four from a team expected to be really good, that is considered a sucessful series.

The Oakland Athletics are coming to town for three games starting tonight, and tonight should be an interesting game. Josh Lindbloom gets the start for Texas. In cas you don’t remember, Lindbloom came over from the Phillies in the Michael Young trade. Lindbloom is 4-0 with a 2.08 ERA so far at Round Rock this season in seven starts and one relief appearance. He is being called up to take Alexi Ogando’s spot in the rotation, and he will be put up against last years proven cheater Bartolo Colon. Colon has not fared as well this season, being 3-2 with a 4.56 ERA. The Rangers also designated Derek Lowe for assignment to make room for Lindbloom. The Rangers should be able to win if Lindbloom can hold his own against a struggling A’s lineup. This will be his first major league start. Another exciting thing about tonights game (for all of us prospect fans) is that Jurickson Profar is getting the start at second, replacing the injured Ian Kinsler. Profar is coming off of a multi-home run game Saturday night at Round Rock. If you didn’t get a chance to see him last season with the Rangers, he is a very exciting player to watch. It should be fun to see him out there.

Tuesday gives us the matchup of Yu Darvish (7-1, 2.97 ERA) against Dan Straily (1-2, 7.27 ERA). This matchup just seems unfair for the Athletics, looking at the pitching matchup, but we all know what that means. It means it will probably be a close matchup that will come down to the wire. Either way, I expect Darvish to earn his eight win of the season in this one. Wednesday has Nick Tepesch (3-4, 3.98 ERA) going against Jarrod Parker (2-5, 6.04 ERA). Again, if Tepesch can keep the Rangers in the game, they should have a great chance of winning this game and sweeping the series.

As earlier mentioned, the Rangers designated Derek Lowe for assignment. Derek had an ERA of 9.00, the worst by far in the Rangers organization this season. Michael Kirkman, whom a lot of Rangers fans wanted dropped today after his appearence yesterday, is still there. I think the Rangers are willing to give him more of a chance because he is younger and the Rangers are hoping he will come around eventually. He has had some good games, and then some really bad games. Kind of reminds me of Derek Holland a couple of years ago. When Kirkman is good, he is really good, and when he is bad, well, you know that.

This series can really put a long distance between the Rangers and their next closet competition, and that would be a good thing seeing how the season ended in 2012. I am looking forward to watching what this team can accomplish with all the young talant this year.