“Rangers vs. Reds: A High-Stakes Pitching Showdown That Could Define the Season!”

Let’s take just a moment to talk about the NCAA Tournament. I recently put out eight plays for the tournament over the past week. It was a disaster. I went just 1-7, so I’ve been looking forward to Monday when we could abandon the hardwood for a couple of days and allow me to regroup. To be fair, this was my worst stretch of basketball in an otherwise great year, but I’m happy to get back to baseball. I’ve started the season 2-1 and now am taking on the game between the Rangers and the Reds. 

The Rangers have opened the season with a 3-1 record, taking the opening series against the Red Sox. They were at home, but after dropping the opening day start, they ended up winning three straight games. What has been most interesting to me about their four games is that they all have been rather low scoring. In their three games, the totals have been seven, five, seven, and five. By this trend, the game should end on seven runs today, but that’s also not very realistic. It is earlier, but how have the Rangers gotten their success? The team is pitching very well. Collectively, they have a 2.50 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP, and a .194 batting average. They are issuing a lot of walks, though, allowing four per game. They are putting Kumar Rocker on the hill today to start the game. Rocker had three games for the Rangers last year against the Mariners, Blue Jays, and Athletics. He pitched pretty well in those games, allowing just five earned runs in 11.2 innings. He also struck out 14 in that stretch and allowed 12 hits. Rocker is one of the guys that has a bunch of potential, but we will need to see what happens. 

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