First Pitch: 7:05 pm CDT
TV: FSN
Radio: Twins Radio Network
Know Thine Enemy: Lone Star Ball
Tonight's forecast for Arlington, TX at 7pm: 99 degrees, sunny, with a dew point in the mid 60s. There are lots of things more fun than a mid-July road trip to play the Rangers, up to and including a kick in the ass.
It's the first of four in Texas; here's your probable starters for tonight.
Holland threw consecutive shutouts either side of the All-Star break, though admittedly these were against Oakland and Seattle, so it's not like he was pitching against the varsity. Anyway, he was on track to be the story of July, and then the Angels pounded him for seven runs in five and a third. And in the start before his two shutouts, he didn't even get out of the first inning, allowing a grand slam to Florida's Hanley Ramirez four batters into the game, an accomplishment possibly more impressive than back-to-back shutouts.
He seems kind of streaky to me.
He did pitch against the Twins earlier this year, striking out ten and giving up four runs in eight innings on June 9. The Twins won that game in the bottom of the ninth and Holland got a no-decision.
Blackburn has allowed two earned runs or fewer in thirteen of his 20 starts this year, including his past two. In his other seven, though, he's given up at least five earned runs, including the three starts prior to his current two-start good streak.
He seems kind of streaky to me.
In the aforementioned June 9 game against Texas, Blackburn gave up two earned runs on ten hits, with two unearned runs scoring thanks to a pair of errors (one of which was on Blackburn himself, which is goofy.) The Rangers went 1-10 with runners in scoring position, which explains how they managed only four runs on twelve hits.