Since throwing a complete-game shutout coming out of the all-star break in Seattle, Texas Rangers lefty Matt Harrison had struggled, going 1-2 with a 5.55 ERA in his four starts since.
With Yu Darvish and Derek Holland seemingly turning a corner in their seasons over the weekend in wins over the Detroit Tigers, the Rangers were hoping Harrison could bounce back from those outings, including his last one that didn't even last five innings as he battled a stomach virus.
And even though the New York Yankees beat the Rangers 3-0 on Tuesday behind a gem from starting pitcher Hiroki Kuroda, Harrison can take solace in the fact that he did all he could to win a ballgame.
Harrison went 6 1/3 innings, giving up one run with three walks and two strikeouts, despite struggling through the first four innings and getting out of jam after jam.
"He was outstanding," Rangers manager Ron Washington said after the game. "Early on, he had some stressful innings, but he found a way to make pitches and get out of it."
With Scott Feldman going well right now, if Ryan Dempster can string together a few good starts, the Rangers' pitching staff might be in better shape than we thought a few weeks ago. It'd still be far from the best, but the best in the AL West (Oakland and Los Angeles) might not even make the postseason, so that's out of the equation.
