Texas Rangers Rumble but Don't Stumble in 5-0 Victory
Posted on: Friday, 9 May 2008, 21:00 CDT
SEATTLE -- A friendly community service reminder: The Rangers host Seattle for three games starting Monday. For those who can't land Stars tickets and want to see a fight, plenty of good seats are available in Arlington.
They could be three action-packed days.
After two hit batters and another pitch that was high, the benches -- and bullpens -- spilled on to the field Thursday during the Rangers' 5-0 win to close out a four-game series in Seattle. The Rangers won three of the four, including the last two by shutout, and escaped last place in the American League West.
The Rangers, who finished the road trip by pitching 21 consecutive scoreless innings, went 5-2 on the trip. It's the first time the Rangers have had consecutive shutouts since Sept. 18-19, 2004 at Los Angeles.
"If they try to do something, we'll retaliate," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "But [we] don't have any vendetta against the Seattle Mariners. I think we finished the game pretty well."
The Mariners, who now occupy the division's bottom spot, certainly appeared to be a frustrated team.
Starter Felix Hernandez, who fell behind 4-0 after two innings, hit a pair of Rangers before the brawl ever erupted. It didn't come to a boil until Seattle's Richie Sexson thought a two-out, fourth-inning pitch from soft-tossing lefty Kason Gabbard was intended for his neck. The pitch, though high, was just slightly inside.
"I'm 6-8," Sexson said. "What are we talking about here? We're talking about a guy who can hit the corners at will and all of a sudden he's up around my face?"
Sexson took off for the mound and fired his helmet at Gabbard's back. The pair tumbled to the ground as catcher Gerald Laird, perhaps caught off guard by Sexson's sprint, arrived to try and pull them apart.
As the rest of the players arrived, various other scrums broke out. Rangers pitcher Sidney Ponson required restraining. Laird, whom Hernandez had hit earlier in the game, and the Mariners' starter also had to be pulled apart. Ironically, it was Milton Bradley, who tore a knee ligament last year while being restrained during an argument with an umpire, who picked Laird up and carried him back towards the dugout. Twice after putting him down, Bradley shoved Laird back.
"I'm not saying he [Hernandez] did anything on purpose to me," Laird said. "But the overall look of it was not good."
When it was over, Sexson was the only player ejected. But the fight took a toll on Gabbard, too. He suffered bruising to his legs while pinned beneath Sexson and Laird. He managed to stay in the game for one more hitter, then left. It was Gabbard's first start after returning from a stiff back. The Rangers don't believe the injury is serious, however. Gabbard declined to comment after the game. Sexson apologized for throwing his helmet.
"I thought that was bull," Washington said. "What is he 6-13? That's just frustration. He overreacted."
The game turned tense after Hernandez hit Ian Kinsler in the top of the fourth. Kinsler had homered in the second to give the Rangers a 4-0 lead. When he came to the plate in the fourth, Hernandez fired inside. Kinsler didn't really try to dodge the pitch, but stared the pitcher down after he was hit. Hernandez returned the stare as Mariners catcher Kenji Johjima followed Kinsler halfway to first base. It was the second time Hernandez has hit Kinsler.
"I have no idea if it was on purpose," Kinsler said. "But you hit a home run and a guy who is mostly a sinker guy throws one up and in on you, you'd kind of believe it was a purpose pitch."
When the clubs meet Monday, the Rangers will be starting right-hander Vicente Padilla, who leads the majors in hit batters since 2002 with 79. Hernandez starts for the Mariners on Tuesday. And Scott Feldman, who touched off a memorable brawl with Los Angeles in 2006, by hitting Adam Kennedy with a payback pitch, starts the series finale.
Source: The Dallas Morning News
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