Texas Rangers left-hander Derek Holland started last night's game against the Minnesota Twins with a 9-4 record thanks, in part, to 6.60 average runs of support per start, the third-highest total in the American League. This morning, Holland leads the American League with 7.55 average runs of support per start, thanks to an offensive explosion by his teammates, who rained 20 runs and 27 hits on Minnesota en route to a 20-6 victory.
"My focus was easy to keep," Holland-who pitched six innings, allowing one run on five hits-said after the drubbing. "Every time I went back to the mound I felt like I had to get loose again. The main thing was to throw strikes and make sure the momentum was in our favor."
Added Holland: "I can't say enough about the offense."
Here's a few things one can say about the barrage that started against Twins right-hander Nick Blackburn and ended up touching six pitchers:
- After five innings, the Rangers had 22 hits, the most by an American League team in an entire game this season
- After those same five innings, the Rangers had 18 runs, in the process becoming just the third team since 1900 to score 3 runs in each of the first three innings. Noted Twins manager Ron Gardenhire: "The first five innings went like a ZIP code. That tells you how it went for us. I think that's somewhere in New York, 33354."
- The Rangers' 27 hits were the second-most in team history, behind only the 29 they notched in their notorious 30-3 August 22, 2007 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.
- Three Rangers-second-baseman Ian Kinsler, outfielder Nelson Cruz and catcher Mike Napoli-had four hits each, and four others-designated-hitter Michael Young, shortstop Elvis Andrus, outfielder Endy Chavez and first-baseman Mitch Moreland-had three each.
It was the fifth time in franchise history the Rangers have scored 20 or more runs in a game.
Sunday night, the Rangers were blanked, 3-0, and put up just four singles against Toronto Blue Jays lefthander Brent Cecil in a draining loss. Four-time All-Star outfielder Josh Hamilton, who had two hits and three RBIs in Monday's blowout, went back to that shutout loss by way of explaining the outburst. "Think we were mad," he asked.
"We came out with a lot of energy," Young, who had an opposite-field two-run homer in the first inning to put the Rangers up 3-0 after they had already gained a one-run lead, said. "Obviously you never expect a game like this."
"It was fun," Hamilton said. "Obviously you're not going to do it all the time, but when you do it, it's fun. It seemed like everybody fed off each other."
Both Young and Hamilton mentioned how grateful they were to be on the winning side of the onslaught rather than the other.
"We have a lot of respect for the Twins," Young said. "They are a very professional team. We expect a tough game tomorrow."
But, for now, the Rangers will enjoy satisfying memories of their highest-ever hit output at home, in the Ballpark of Arlington, the most runs in one game by any team thus far in 2011, and the fact that a late Anaheim Angels loss expanded their cushion as the first place team in the American League West to four games instead of three.
"We did a pretty good job," Andrus said, to summarize the night's events.
*All quotes courtesy of July 26 MLB.com article by T.R. Sullivan
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