After a rough go of things in his debut with the Texas Rangers last week in which he ran into a hot Angels lineup, a hot day and a serious jet stream at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, newly acquired starting pitcher Ryan Dempster got a shot at redemption on Tuesday night in Boston, and he came through in a big way.
Dempster was one Ian Kinsler error away from getting through seven innings without allowing a run to one of the most prolific offenses in the game in one of the most hitter-friendly parks in the league. Instead, Dempster gave up a very controversial home run that appeared to be interfered with by a fan sitting on the front row atop the famed Green Monster and left after 6 2/3 innings while allowing three runs — all unearned.
Dempster was aggressive with his fastball and splitter and found a good rhythm en route to striking out six Red Sox hitters while walking just one.
With Derek Holland and Yu Darvish struggling in a big way right now, the Rangers were desperate for Dempster to show they made a smart move in acquiring him just minutes before the July 31 trade deadline, and while the jury's still out, Tuesday night's outing made things a little more clear.
