May 14 against the Kansas City Royals. Think about that. That's nearly two months ago, and that's the last time Texas Rangers rookie reliever Robbie Ross gave up an earned run. Wow.
Ross continued his great pitching on Wednesday night, despite the fact the Rangers lost to the Chicago White Sox in 10 innings. In the seventh inning, Ross struck out Adam Dunn looking with two runners on to end the inning before coming out in the eighth and retiring the side, fanning A.J. Pierzynski on some high heat to end the eighth.
When Ross left the game after the eighth inning, his ERA this season dipped down to 0.99. He's given up five earned runs in 45 1/3 innings with 28 strikeouts and nine walks. He's 6-0 as a rookie reliever.
Somehow, Ross was left off the American League roster for next week's All-Star Game. It's rare that a middle reliever makes the squad, but it does happen from time to time. When it comes down to it, Ron Washington might have just wanted to give his young arm a rest over the break, but it would've been nice to see Ross get rewarded for what has been a pretty unbelievable season.
