“If this team had anything in the way of starting pitching, they'd be our darkhorse pick, possibly in the entire AL.” -- From diamondhoggers.com’s Texas Rangers preview.
Brandon McCarthy, known in Texas widely as the oft-injured guy who the team traded for John Danks in 2006, showed on Sunday that the potential which seemed so limitless only a few years back is only beginning to be tapped.
McCarthy threw a complete game shutout to give Texas the three-game sweep of Houston at Minute Maid Park, surrendering nine hits, eight of which were singles.
With the start, Texas has a vaguely odd, all too uncommon question on their hands: what is to be done with all this pitching? Rangers starters are 14-6 in the last thirty days, with a 3.40 ERA.
This is uncharted territory as far as Texas is concerned, and the reason why they are currently in first place, coming back to Arlington for a three game set with the Yankees.
Derek Holland, in his first major league start on Saturday, was, minus a three-run home run off the bat of Carlos Lee, brilliant. He went 5 2/3 innings, giving up three earned runs in place of Vicente Padilla, who is on the disabled list with a sore right shoulder.
If we’re to assume that Holland will remain a member of the rotation, that gives the Rangers six solid starters—Holland, Millwood, Padilla, Harrison, McCarthy, Feldman--with only five rotation spots.
This may be a problem, by definition, but it’s certainly an agreeable one.
Astros manager Cecil Cooper seemed to notice the team’s turnaround as well.
“What I'm most impressed about their club is the way they pitched and caught the ball,” Cooper said following Sunday’s game. “That's why they're where they are."
The rotation will have its hands full over the next three days, as the Rangers play host to the New York Yankees, winners of 20 of their last 28 games.
But, along with the pitching and defense that seemed to elude Texas for so many years, the team has a new mindset, as straight forward and aggressive as Mike Maddux’s pitching philosophy, on display when Manager Ron Washington was asked about the upcoming showdown.
"It's always a test when you play good teams," said Washington. "If we can continue to pitch the way we have been pitching and catch the ball -- I know we can swing the bat -- we'll see what happens. We caught Seattle when they were hot. We caught Anaheim when they were hot. Bring it on."
