Jon Daniels pulled another rabbit out of his minor league hat.
Rookie Matt Harrison, just called up from Triple-A Oklahoma City, threw seven strong innings as he out-dueled All-Star Joe Saunders to earn his first major league victory.
This victory came at a time when the Rangers need for quality pitching is a must. After this series with the Angels, they face yet another first place team in the Chicago White Sox this weekend.
Harrison, acquired from the Atlanta Braves last summer in the Mark Teixeira trade, offered a bit of relief to Rangers fans after Eric Hurley was placed on the DL with a strained hamstring.
The rookie left-hander, who had to wait nearly an hour to pitch due to a rain delay, allowed only two runs in his first start.
Harrison wasn't the only Rangers rookie to make some noise. Chris Davis sent his fifth home run over the fence in center field to tie the game in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Josh Hamilton added two RBI to up his major league leading total to 87 and Ian Kinsler extended his hit streak to 20 games with a double to right-center in the sixth inning. Kinsler is now batting .337 on the season as he continues to show why he should be the All-Star starter at second base.
Jon Daniels seems to have figured out this whole General Manager gig. The Rangers battery, Harrison and Jarrod Saltalamacchia, were both parts of the Teixeira trade. Two more pieces of that trade, 20-year-old Neftali Feliz and 19-year-old Elvis Andrus, are currently at Double-A Frisco and two of the organizations top prospects.
Vicente Padilla has been scratched from his start tonight and another rookie, Michael Ballard, will be given a chance to further prove the depth of the Rangers minor league system. In his last start, Ballard threw 8.1 innings while giving up one earned run and striking out six.
Hopefully Jon-Boy will continue to keep up this magic show.
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