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The naturalThe Rangers won 4-1, 6-2 and 4-3 over the Twins, which I think is their first road sweep in a long time. You'll just have to take my word for it.
The Rangers are 5-1 against the AL Central early on and are 4.5 games up on the California Angels, who lost two of three -- despite all that pitching -- in the Bronx this weekend.
As always, we start at the beginning:
Matt Harrison
I predicted a breakout, 17-win season for Harrison. That might be an understatement. He's 2-0 now after going eight innings and allowing a run Friday night. There's little to say outside of the fact that he's simply learned to pitch. He mixes three pitches with ease, throwing it all for strikes. He doesn't make many mistakes, if any. He might be the best starter in the bunch.
Josh Hamilton
Remember when he couldn't hit in the daytime? The Rangers are 4-0 in day games this season. Hamilton's hitting .438 with two doubles and two homers during the day. It's amazing what some eyedrops and a contract year does to a guy's ability to see a baseball.
Robbie Ross
Tied for team lead in wins. Notched two over the weekend for his first in the bigs. Honestly, he was spectacular. Got Justin Morneau (reminded me a lot of Derek Holland vs. Jim Thome three years ago) to foul out Friday for a gigantic out and then Sunday he pitched two meaty innings (again, handling Morneau and Josh Willingham) striking out three, allowing a hit and looking dominant and impossible to hit. More and more, Ron Washington's trusting him.
Bullpen
Speaking of, the only guys Wash trusts are Alexi Ogando, Mike Adams and Joe Nathan. Adams has more appearances (7) than Koji Uehara, Mark Lowe and Ross combined (5). That can't keep up. Also, Nathan got back-to-back great outings Saturday and Sunday. He looked great, which is primarily why I'm not freaking out. His fastball is in the mid-90s and his slider still bites. Until he's hit hard time after time, you roll with him.
Mike Young
Is on pace for 225 hits. And hitting .500 with runners in scoring position.
Yu Darvish
He was better. But you knew there was going to be times like this. I'd almost prefer him to sort of work his way through things now rather than dominant and then have hitters catch up to you. Command, I thought, was way better. I felt like he pitched around guys (Willingham, especially) and that ran up his pitch count and walk total. Those were sort of intentional without being intentional. He'll get better.
Neftali Feliz
I thought he was OK. Command early on was very good and it allowed him to work pretty quickly. Felt like the Clete Thomas homer -- Feliz's only real mistake -- threw him off course. Like the air was let out of the balloon.
Ian Kinsler
Went 1-14 with one walk in the series. Granted, the one hit (a home run Friday) and the one walk (to start the seventh inning Sunday, which turned the game around) were beyond gigantic. But it still boggles the mind as to why he can't hit on the road. The numbers are astounding: .214 on the road, .296 at home in 2011. This season's looking no different.
Wash Ball
If you want to teach a kid how to play baseball, let him or her watch the Rangers. I lost count the amount of times that a guy went from first to third on a base hit. How many times a player tagged up on a semi-shallow flyball. The times an outfielder took the right angle at a hit and prevented an extra base or even a run. There is a quantifiable reason the Rangers are 8-2 with sometimes so-so starting pitching and iffy offense. They do every single little thing right. Wash has this team on a string.
Brandon Snyder
How about Brandon Snyder?
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