From PlaymakerOnline.com

To see the original page, click here: http://bit.ly/hPRoUI

Except for some errors that cost the Texas Rangers some runs, not much could have gone better for the reigning American League champs when they beat the AL East favorite Boston Red Sox 9-5.

They say that you can tell how a season is going to go based on how the team’s first hitter does. Ian Kinsler hit a home run. I don’t know if that will set the tone for the rest of the season but it certainly set the tone for the rest of the game because, as good as Jon Lester is going to pitch this year, it’s unlikely that he’ll have a game like that again. He only gave up 14 home runs last year as a Cy Young candidate and gave up three in this game.

Nelson Cruz and Mike Napoli hit the other two.

Texas came out swinging. And why not. The team has a lot of right-handed power hitters going up against a lefty that doesn’t throw for power. So the Rangers chased Boston’s #1 starter then failed to score again until Daniel Bard came to the mound.

If you don’t follow Boston Red Sox baseball, there was a point where Bard was being considered to be promoted to the closer’s role if they could trade away Jonathan Papelbon who is in the final year of his contract. Bard has electric stuff that I’ve been lucky enough to see in person, but Texas jumped all over him, forcing him to throw 32 pitches in just 2/3 of an inning and scoring four runs off the highly-touted Red Sox reliever.

The most dominant pitcher in the game was Neftali Feliz, who closed out the game for Texas. Ironically, he wanted a spot in the starting rotation and didn’t want the ball in this position during spring training. But you couldn’t tell that the way he was firing on the mound in the 9th inning. He struck out two batters and didn’t allow a hit in the victory.

In their next game, Colby Lewis will take on John Lackey. Lewis had an incredible run in the 2011 playoffs as he was the team’s best pitcher; better than Cliff Lee. He won two games in the ALCS and got their only World Series win in Game 3 in Arlington. He’s the only Rangers pitcher to win a home game in the playoffs as he has three.

For more Astros and Rangers coverage, check out PlaymakerOnline.com
Playmaker Magazine: The Source for Sports in Texas