Davis, Texas Pen Thwart Yankees

I guess the rain delay wasn't worth the wait.

Chris Davis cracked two homers, Marlon Byrd drove in a pair of runs and the bullpen foursome of Jason Jennings, C.J. Wilson, Darren O'Day and Frank Francisco pitched 3 1/3 scoreless innings as the Rangers subdued the Yanks 7-3 in Texas.  Mark Teixeira clubbed his 14th round-tripper of the year and Bret Gardner banged out three his and swiped three bases, but it wasn't enough.

Joba Chamberlain made the start for the Bombers and wasn't up to the task.  The husky right-hander allowed three runs on four hits over four innings and walked four on 84 pitches.  I don't know if he was affected by the rain delay, his sore knee or just plain didn't pitch well.  Whatever the reason, he was fortunate he wasn't tagged with the loss.  Alfredo Aceves earned that distinction by giving up three runs in his two innings of relief.  

And sadly, I wasn't man enough to watch this entire game.  The start of this loss was delayed by over two and a half hours and that was just too late for me.  In fact, I don't think I got passed the second inning -- which is strange because I don't usually hit the hay until after midnight anyway.  I did see Melky Cabrera walk off the field holding his shoulder, though.  But time has made it clear that it is no longer my friend.  Here are some time-related songs by Mercyful Fate and Anthrax to illustrate my point.




A.J. Burnett (2-2, 5.28 ERA) will go against Derek Holland (1-1, 4.82 ERA) in the rubber game Wednesday night.  Burnett had trouble keeping the ball in the park in his last start against the Philadelphia Phillies, surrendering three homers through six innings in a 7-3 loss.  A.J. won his first two starts in pinstripes, but has fallen on hard times since.  He's recorded two losses and five no-decisions in his past seven starts.  It's a small sample, but Josh Hamilton owns Burnett in his career -- he's 4 for 6 with one homer, two doubles and three RBIs.  Holland was forced into the starter's role last week after pitcher Vicente Padilla was placed on the disabled list.  He was serviceable in his first start of the year -- allowing three runs on five hits over 5 2/3 innings against the Houston Astros, but picked up a no-decision in the Rangers' 6-5 victory.  The 22-year-old left-hander is holding right-handed batters to a .184 average this season.  This will be his first career appearance against the Bombers.

No more rain delays.  This old man can't handle 'em.