DALLAS — Before we dispense with the elephant in the room that emerged early during the Texas Rangers’ 11-7 win over Philadelphia Thursday, let’s acknowledge and praise the obvious. The local lads can still gear up a victory the old-fashioned Ranger way, a Power-in-the-Park show to provide all the necessary knockout blows.
The Rangers won the top prize on Major League Baseball’s opening day, outscoring every team in the league despite the fact that there were a couple of 10-9 winners. In fact, the Rangers outscored the rest of the American League West by three runs. This is what it’s like having Bruce Bochy in the dugout. He posts a lineup that does not necessarily scare the pants off opponents, then collects his World Series rings in the fall.
That’s not to say that the top four of the Rangers’ lineup isn’t high quality. It better be, given the salaries of the first two batters. But Bochy has made it clear he plans to write down Marcus Semien-Corey Seager-Nathaniel Lowe-Adolis Garcia to start his day on a regular basis. It’s the manner in which the hitters that come after that delivered — three-run home run by Robbie Grossman, two-run shot from Brad Miller — that made for a happy start to the long, long season.
