NakamuraRangers Win Game 1, Just the Way I Predicted
That is what I predicted in my article before the series began. And what do you know, the Rangers did win with a score of 5-1. Spot on.
The Rangers won behind a great effort from starting pitcher Cliff Lee. He went 7 inning, 1 run on 5 hits and 10 strikeouts. The Rangers are off to a great start. Ray's pitcher, David Price on the other hand, struggled mightily in the game. Going 6.2 innings, he gave up 9 hits and 5 runs, 4 of them earned. With the weak offense the Rays have, they need their pitching to be strong. The Ranger's bats were alive, collecting a total of 10 hits in the game. When the Rangers hit, they can out slug any team. The Rays should be nervous, this may end quicker than they think.
Roy Halladay threw a no hitter for the Phillies in their first victory in the postseason. He also has an RBI single under his belt, helping his team to a 4-0 victory. This is Halladay's first postseason appearance. Reds pitcher Edinson Volquez left early after just 1.2 innings. He allowed 4 earned runs. For full details on Halladay's performance, I wrote a blog solely about Doc's performance.
CC Sabathia was shaky for the Yankees, which came off as slightly surprising. (6IP, 4 R, 3ER 3 BB) This should be monitored closely, just in case CC doesn't bounce back in his next start. If the Yankees can't have their usually effective ace, this post season run may end far shorter than anybody in the Bronx would like. The Twins had some decent offense, scoring 4 off of Sabathia. Liriano had a disappointing start, going only 5.2 innings and allowing 4 earned runs. The Twins bullpen, aside from Jesse Crain, performed quite well. In 3 innings work, they allowed no runs, no hits, no walks. A perfect three... except Jesse Crain. He allowed 3 hits and 2 earned runs on a homerun. Just unacceptable in the playoffs.
I will update this post as the day goes on
