Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington has posted his lineup for Friday night’s first-ever American League Wild Card game, with lefty “Bazooka Joe” Saunders starting for the Baltimore Orioles.
Ron Washington’s Wild Card lineup
1. Ian Kinsler - 2B
2. Elvis Andrus - SS
3. Josh Hamilton* - LF
4. Adrian Beltre - 3B
5. Nelson Cruz - RF
6. Michael Young - 1B
7. Mike Napoli - DH
8. Geovany Soto - C
9. Craig Gentry - CF
Talk about stacking the deck ... Hamilton, by most accounts the Rangers’ best player, is the only left-handed hitter in the entire lineup. And as our own Grant Brisbee points out, Saunders doesn’t exactly excel against right-handed hitters. The only real change here, though, is that outfielder David Murphy is usually in the outfield, no matter who’s pitching. It’s not abundantly clear what Soto brings to the table, as he batted .198 this season in his time with the Cubs and Rangers.
Saunders will presumably have his hands full, though. Of course, with Buck Showalter able to stack his roster with relief pitchers for this one-game “series,” we might see Saunders for long.
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