David Murphy hit an RBI triple in the second inning and scored on an Ian Kinsler base hit to give the Rangers an early 2-0 lead before Nelson Cruz busted out his boomstick. The outfielder led off the fourth with a solo shot, taking Justin Verlander deep on an 0-2 fastball which turned out to be the deciding factor in his team's win. Good for Cruz too, cause he was in quite a slump so far throughout the postseason, sporting an .067 batting average entering the series.
Rangers starter C.J. Wilson had a rather rough outing, lasting just 4.2 innings. The lefty walked five and coughed up two runs, including one a wild pitch that scored a run between rain delays. However, the relief corps cleaned up the mess and stomped the Tigers' rally. Five Texas relievers combined for eight strikeouts, with only Neftali Feliz allowing a hit while getting clocked at 101 mph for his fourth postseason save.
I suppose Detroit's loss could be partly attributed to the absence of Delmon Young -- we swear that's an impostor -- who batted .316 with three homers against the New York Yankees in the ALDS before suffering an oblique injury during Game 5. The left fielder now has to watch the best-of-seven series from the bench.
Game 2 is set for Monday night at 4:19pm ET on FOX with Derek Holland starting for the Rangers against Tigers right-hander Max Scherzer. The contest was postponed a day since there was a 60 percent chance of rain over the Arlington area just before Sunday's game time.
[SB Nation]
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