The Texas Rangers took 6 innings to squeeze a Run out of Gil Meche today, but that was all the would get. Meche left the game after those 6 innings of work, giving up only 4 Hits, and allowing just that one Run. His ERA dropped to 5.25, and he looked all set to pick up the Win, until the bullpen entered the game.
Mahay entered the game in the 7th inning with a 5-1 lead, and held the Rangers scoreless in that inning. It was the 8th inning, where things started to come apart. Mahay was relieved in the 8th inning, after giving up 2 Unearned Runs (E3, Tehean, missed catch), but did leave with the lead intact. Tomko entered and was tagged for 2 Runs of his own, and the Royals saw their lead disappear, and the club entered the 9th inning with a tie, 5-5. It wasn’t long into the 9th inning, when Yabuta pitched to a Blown Save, and picked up the Lose, giving him a 1-1 record for the year. This was his first Blown Save of the year.
Gordon, Guillen, Buck, and Gaithright all had 1 RBI today, with the fifth Run scoring on 1 of 3 Ranger Errors. They totalled 13 Hits in this contest, and looked good for most of the game, having base runners throughout the whole game, threatening at every turn.
This lose is hard to take as the team is already struggling, especially on the road. It would have been a nice win for the club, giving their dominate play here today. Everything looked great, but it was lost as fast as it was gained.
Not a good lose for a club looking to salvage the season, starting off so hot in the Central. This keeps the team at 12.5 games behind Chicago, who also lost today, and in the cellar by 2.5 games, behind Detroit. Something needs to happen before the lead in the Central is out of reach, and the playoffs become mathmatically impossible. We aren’t there yet, just ask the Yankees (14 games out at the All Star Break, and made the playoffs), or the Colorado Rockies (who put together an incredible winning streak to squek in the playoffs, also, last year). It’s not out of reach, but it is not going to be easy.