3 Keys For The Rangers In ALDS Game 1
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1. Defense on the left side of the field: The Blue Jays are a power-hitting lineup heavy with right-handed swingers. The Beltre-Andrus-Hamilton isosceles triangle will likely get tested frequently with some hard-hit balls. The combination of Toronto's power and Gallardo's ground ball inducing ways will likely distribute the wealth among them.
Hamilton's knee checked out in both Houston and Arlington and while the former Gold Glove caliber outfielder isn't as swift as he once was, he's still well above-average.
Both Andrus and Beltre had their moments in the field this year of both good and bad. Andrus racked up 22 errors this season, the second most in his career, and Beltre was charged with 17 errors, the most he's ever had in a season with the Rangers. Let's hope they keep that playoff total at zero when tomorrow' wrapped up.
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2. Staying stubborn: Yovani Gallardo's recipe for success is always what frustrates many fans and that's his tendency to nibble and nibble and nibble and nibble and nibble and rinse and repeat. For some pitchers, that's not a good strategy. For Gallardo, it might be the only strategy. His stuff isn't good enough to withstand mistakes over the plate, so he's got to flirt with the edges and even hope for some chasing by the batters. It leads to elevated pitch counts and a lack of innings, but also a lack of runs allowed--Gallardo allowed four or fewer runs in 28 of 33 starts.
At the plate, the Rangers flipped a switch over the last month and became pests at the plate. Jeff Banister has preached a "stubborn approach" all year long and it seems like the players demonstrated his wishes in September better than any prior month. Only the Yankees (3.98) saw more pitches/plate appearance in September among AL teams than Texas (3.96). It benefitted them in game no. 162 when they forced Garrett Richards to throw over 30 pitches in his opening inning, which undoubtedly contributed to his exit after just six innings.
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3. Right-handed hitting. A lot of people remember the Rangers' success against David Price during the 2010 and 2011 post-season. Texas won all three of his starts and they did so thanks in part to good right-handed hitting. Over those three wins, right-handed hitters combined to go 23-for-66 (.348) with 3 2B and 3 HR. Even in those wins, Rangers lefties went just 1-for-15 (.067).
While that seems like an obvious "key," the Rangers spent much of this season in search of worthwhile right-handed bats. Elvis and Adrian weren't getting the job done earlier in the season. Obviously, that changed and, for Beltre, did so in big way. The addition of Napoli was key, too. Those guys will need to come up big for the Rangers tomorrow. In 2011, they went 3-for-7 with Napoli's HR issuing a big blow in their four-run seventh inning.
