He came into the game batting .159, one of the last holdovers under the Mendoza line.
But, really, with Robinson Chirinos and Carlos Corporon as your two catchers, it’s a crapshoot of who you put behind the plate.
Colby Lewis likes pitching to Chirinos, so he got the nod.
Good thing he did, because the Rangers won 8-7 on the strength of his bat and his brain.
His bat delivered the go-ahead home run in the bottom of the eighth inning. But it was his great play in the top of the eight that was the difference maker.
You always see the catcher follow the runner down to first in the off chance that there is an errant throw from an infielder. In the history of baseball, it has never mattered, but they do it anyway.
It actually mattered tonight. Cleveland’s Jose Ramirez led off the inning hitting a routine grounder to second baseman Tommy Fields. His throw, however, was not routine. Well, maybe comedy routine. Fields threw the ball way right, past Mitch Moreland, for an error. Thankfully Robinson Chirinos had the presence of mind to back up the throw and he…
Oh, never mind.
I wrote this too soon. As I was writing this, Feliz just blew another save. Thank you, Jon Daniels, for addressing the bullpen in the offseason.
The Rangers lose 10-8. What an awful way to lose over and over and over and over and over again.
Sorry, Robinson, you don’t get the game ball. Blame your GM.