Game 1 of 3: Rangers 9 vs. Twins 6 — FINAL (11 innings)

Game Time: 3:27 —Attendance: 24,524
WP: Brocail (3-0); LP: Nathan (1-1); SV: Cordero (12)
 

PROPS TO:

* Joe Mays - Pitched a great game up until the 7th, when he had a 6-2 lead.  Gardy should have pulled him earlier in the 7th, either after the first or second base hit.

* Joe Mauer - 2-6 day with 2 RBIs.

* Justin Morneau - Continues his hot hitting, going 2-6, but that’s the bad thing about sporting a .400+ average - a 2-6 day brings it down.  But it’s still at a very respectable .405.

* Shannon Stewart - Also had 2 hits in 6 trips.

* Torii Hunter - 2-6 day with 2 RBIs.

* Michael Cuddyer - Only 1-3, but worked 2 walks in the game, doing his part to get on base.  He doesn’t walk much, so it was good to see that tonight.

* Michael Young - Got the Rangers on the board in the 3rd with a 2-run blast to the opposite field in RF.  Also scored 2 runs and had 2 hits in 6 ABs.

* Mark Teixiera - 2-6 with 3 RBIs, 2 of them coming on an infield hit in the 11th.

* Chad Allen - Former Twin started trouble for us in the 11th with a line drive double, which really should have been caught by Jones.  It scored the go-ahead run for Texas.

* Alfonso Soriano - 2-5 day, with a run scored.

* Richard Hidalgo - 3-5, including his 7th inning homer that brought the Rangers to within a run at 6-5.  His 3 hits was the most by any starter on either team.

* Rangers bullpen (Benoit, Reglio, Shouse, Brocail, Cordero) - Shut down the Twins offense for the rest of the game after Drese’s departure, not allowing a run and moreso allowing the Rangers to get their bats going to get back into the game, which they did.

* Jesse Crain - Continues to pitch well, only going 0.2 inning, but both outs were strikeouts.  

* J.C. Romero - Had a good outing, going 1.1 innings, giving up no hits and no runs, and had a strikeout.

FLOPS TO:

* Twins offense after 4th inning - Bats went silent, not doing much to keep getting runs, even with a 4-run lead.  Can’t be doing stuff like that, especially against a dangerous offense like Texas.

* Jacque Jones - Didn’t help Nathan and the Twins out by missing Chad Allen’s line drive in the top of the 11th, which led to the go-ahead run for the Rangers.  He should have caught it, and didn’t, and it should have been scored an error.  He also went hitless in 3 official ABs, with the other two being a walk and a hit-by-pitch.

* Tom Mee - Should have ruled an error on Jones’ play in RF, not a double.

* Lew Ford - Offensive woes continue, only going 1-5.

* Laynce Nix - Hitless in 5 ABs.

* Ryan Drese - Twins hit him early, scoring 6 runs and he didn’t make it through the 4th inning.  His ERA rose to 6.14.  He gave up 9 hits in 3.2 innings, walked 2, and only struck out 1.

* Juan Rincon - Gave up the tying run in the 8th in his first appearance since being suspended.  Hopefully he can shake it off and shut 'em down next time.

* Joe Nathan - Took the loss, but I wonder if he didn't help his own cause by barehanding a ground ball for the first out in the 11th.  That might have affected his pitches to batters faced afterward.  Those three runs he gave up should have been unearned.