AL champ Texas rallies for 9-5 win over Boston
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AL champ Texas rallies for 9-5 win over Boston
by tammy Sat Apr 02, 2011 6:14 pm
The defending American League champion Texas Rangers are already on the comeback trail.
Newcomer Mike Napoli quickly endeared himself to Rangers fans with a three-run homer and old favorite David Murphy delivered as a pinch-hitter with a tiebreaking two-run double as Texas rallied for a 9-5 victory over the Boston Red Sox.
Like so many times while winning their first AL pennant a year ago, including the 2010 opener, the Rangers pulled off an exhilarating rally — this one after raising their championship flag.
"There isn't anything changed with those guys," manager Ron Washington.
Napoli, who spent the last five seasons with the AL West rival Los Angeles Angels, put the Rangers up 5-4 with his homer in the fourth. After David Ortiz tied the game with a homer in the eighth, Napoli was on base in the bottom of that inning when Murphy hit a slicing liner off hard-throwing Daniel Bard that kicked up chalk when it landed.
"My first reaction was it was going to be foul," Murphy said. "Usually from that point, you see the ball tail off a little bit, but it stayed straight. ... I saw the chalk and kept running."
Napoli walked and Yorvit Torrealba singled before both newcomers ran home on Murphy's hit to break a 5-all tie. Elvis Andrus drove Murphy home with a double before another double by AL MVP Josh Hamilton.
Bard said he threw the exact pitch he wanted to Murphy.
"Sinker down and away. It was on the knees, outer black," Bard said. "He just barely got the bat to it. Three inches to the left and that's a foul ball, and we're having a different conversation."
While the Rangers are coming off the season of their first AL pennant, the Red Sox reloaded after missing the playoffs for only the second time in an eight-year span that included two World Series titles. They added a pair of All-Stars this winter in Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford.
Gonzalez, who came in a trade from San Diego, had two hits and drove in three runs in his Boston debut. Crawford, who had played the past nine seasons in Tampa Bay, went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts while leaving a runner in scoring position each at-bat.
Napoli finished with two hits and scored twice for the Rangers, whose returning players will get their AL championship rings in pregame ceremony Saturday.
"When you're making your debut, that's what you want to do. It's a great feeling," Napoli said. "It's a good start. You don't want to start 0 for 3. When I got traded, I was happy to be with a winning team that went to the World Series."
_______________
Angle Rolls
traghetti da Brindisi
Newcomer Mike Napoli quickly endeared himself to Rangers fans with a three-run homer and old favorite David Murphy delivered as a pinch-hitter with a tiebreaking two-run double as Texas rallied for a 9-5 victory over the Boston Red Sox.
Like so many times while winning their first AL pennant a year ago, including the 2010 opener, the Rangers pulled off an exhilarating rally — this one after raising their championship flag.
"There isn't anything changed with those guys," manager Ron Washington.
Napoli, who spent the last five seasons with the AL West rival Los Angeles Angels, put the Rangers up 5-4 with his homer in the fourth. After David Ortiz tied the game with a homer in the eighth, Napoli was on base in the bottom of that inning when Murphy hit a slicing liner off hard-throwing Daniel Bard that kicked up chalk when it landed.
"My first reaction was it was going to be foul," Murphy said. "Usually from that point, you see the ball tail off a little bit, but it stayed straight. ... I saw the chalk and kept running."
Napoli walked and Yorvit Torrealba singled before both newcomers ran home on Murphy's hit to break a 5-all tie. Elvis Andrus drove Murphy home with a double before another double by AL MVP Josh Hamilton.
Bard said he threw the exact pitch he wanted to Murphy.
"Sinker down and away. It was on the knees, outer black," Bard said. "He just barely got the bat to it. Three inches to the left and that's a foul ball, and we're having a different conversation."
While the Rangers are coming off the season of their first AL pennant, the Red Sox reloaded after missing the playoffs for only the second time in an eight-year span that included two World Series titles. They added a pair of All-Stars this winter in Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford.
Gonzalez, who came in a trade from San Diego, had two hits and drove in three runs in his Boston debut. Crawford, who had played the past nine seasons in Tampa Bay, went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts while leaving a runner in scoring position each at-bat.
Napoli finished with two hits and scored twice for the Rangers, whose returning players will get their AL championship rings in pregame ceremony Saturday.
"When you're making your debut, that's what you want to do. It's a great feeling," Napoli said. "It's a good start. You don't want to start 0 for 3. When I got traded, I was happy to be with a winning team that went to the World Series."
_______________
Angle Rolls
traghetti da Brindisi
tammy- noob
- Posts : 16
Join date : 2011-03-20
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