First there was a 10-hit, 6-run affair against Cleveland, then came the freakish game when he gave up five hits — all home runs — and struck out 12 batters in a loss to Baltimore. After that, in Colby Lewis' next start, he committed two errors and allowed seven runs — only two earned — in an ugly loss to the Kansas City Royals.
Three starts. Three losses, and his ERA climbed from 1.93 to 3.63 over that time period.
So Colby Lewis needed a rebound start on Sunday, and the Texas Rangers needed it from him as they were in danger of losing yet another series and the coveted (rolling eyes) Silver Boot trophy to the Houston Astros. He got just what he and the Rangers needed.
Lewis went eight-plus innings, allowing a home run to the first batter in the ninth to end his shutout bid before Ron Washington came and got him, but other than that, Lewis was great as he was back to pounding the strike zone like he did in his first four starts of the year when he was mowing folks down.
Including the ninth-inning solo blast, Lewis gave up four hits and a walk while striking out six Houston batters. And as bad as he's been in the last couple of weeks, Lewis' ERA is now back down to 3.30, which is pretty darn good.
Given his history with this team and his history of being a bulldog on the mound, we knew the struggles wouldn't last forever. Relax, Rangers fans, the rock of your staff is back.
