Finishing the first half strong.

So the Rangers finished the first half of the season strong with a seven game winning streak. The Angels have been doing well also. End result is that Texas is still on top of the division but by only one game.

The final win before the All-Star break came thanks to Matt Harrison's arm. Matt, shown here on card number 525 of the 2008 Topps Heritage set, went 7.2 shutout innings against the A's on Sunday afternoon. Adrian Beltre launched a two run home run in the sixth to give Harrison his seventh win of the season.

So far so good for Texas this season. No major injuries and the starting rotation seems to be pretty solid. Darren O'Day is back. So is Tommy Hunter. Scott Feldman will be coming soon and has been doing well in rehab. The offense seems to be coming together as well.

The two areas that it would be good to see some improvement would be the bullpen and defense. Both are rather streaky, things go well for awhile and then start to hit a rough patch. A lights out reliever or two would be very nice going down the stretch. Going to be a dogfight with the Angels all the way I think so every game will count. It will be interesting to see how things shake out.

Rainout makeup goes Wilson's way.

C.J. Wilson, shown here on card number 532 of the 2009 Topps Heritage set, started in last night's makeup game against the Oakland A's. The game was a makeup for an earlier season game that got rained out. At the time of the rainout the Rangers were leading the A's 7-0 behind Matt Harrison.

Gio Gonzalez started both games for the A's and performed about the same in both. In the rainout he gave up a grand slam to Mitch Moreland. In last nights' game the slam was surrendered to Mike Napoli.

By the end of the first Texas led Oakland 5-0 in route to an 8-5 win. C.J. went seven and gave up four. In addition to Napoli, Ian Kinsler and Adrian Beltre also hit home runs. Theirs were solo shots. Neftali Feliz got into a little trouble in the ninth and gave up a run but Tommy Hunter turned in a scoreless eighth.

All in all a good night and a nice win. Keeps the team in sole possession of first place for one more day.

In memoriam.

Observing a post of silence in memory of Rangers fan Shannon Stone who fell at last night's game and ended up passing away. My thoughts and prayers are with his family.

Elvis' bat lives!

The Rangers completed their sweep of the Orioles last night. The three game series was an offensive eruption for Texas and last night was no exception as they downed the O's 13-5. The win gives them sole possession of first place again.

Alexi Ogando stayed in his early season form as he went seven innings and gave up just three runs to grab the win. Darren O'Day flashed some of his 2010 self as he went a scoreless ninth to seal the deal.

Michael Young, Adrian Beltre, and Endy Chavez all had a great night at the plate. Ian Kinsler, and Mitch Moreland also had good times at the dish.

By far and away the best night at the plate belonged to Elvis Andrus, pictured here on card number 194 of the 2009 Topps Chrome set. Elvis had been scuffling badly heading into last night. In fact, he was 1-for-19 on the homestand prior to the game. Lots of folks were hoping that Andrus could break out of the slump and break out he did.

Elvis went 4-for-4 with a walk. Two of those hits were doubles. Andrus scored three times himself and knocked in a run as well. Good stuff.

Nice to see the sweep, the team back in first, and the return of Elvis' bat. Now to keep the ball rolling against the A's going into the All-Star break.

Odd Moments: Ten cent beer night.

Sorry about no post yesterday. Had family in and Spiff Jr. had a ballgame. Too much going on I guess. Also missed most of yesterday's comeback win over the Orioles so I will pass on commenting on that other than to say that it's nice to see the guys winning again.

Along with his top 50 lists on decisions and seasons T.R. Sullivan also complied one on strange occurrences and odd moments in the Rangers' history. Along with the series on the first two lists I would like to do one on this list as well.

Number one on T.R.'s bizarre moments list is the game the Rangers played in Cleveland on June 4, 1974. In 1974 the Rangers were making some contention noise for the first time in their history. The Indians were mired in a long stretch of mediocrity. With attendance down and the unknown Texas team coming to town something had to be done to draw the fans. The result? Ten cent beer night.

The basic idea was this: for about fifty cents a guy could sit in the bleachers. For ten cents he could get a beer - no limit on the number. All told 25,134 folks came to the game that night (compared to the normal 8,000). The crowd drank approximately 65,000 beers. In fact, the Indians couldn't keep the booze flowing quick enough and ended up giving refills straight from the trucks. What could possibly go wrong? Plenty.

Fireworks were already going off pre-game and the assembled crowd booed Texas manager Billy Martin when he delivered the lineup card to the home plate umpire. In the second inning a woman jumped out of the stands, exposed her breasts, and tried to kiss the home plate umpire. In the fourth Mike Hargrove homered. As he rounded the bases a naked man ran onto the field and slid into second base. In the fifth inning a father and son jumped onto the field and mooned the Rangers. By the seventh inning the bullpens had been evacuated due to the rain of fireworks, trash, and beer.

By the bottom of the ninth things were completely out of control. The outfield wall was being torn down in places and the war drums were literally beating. Security was either ineffective or overrun.

Cleveland was behind 5-3 but mounted a rally to tie the game. To celebrate a fan ran into right field and tried to steal Jeff Burroughs' cap. Burroughs, shown here on card number 86 of the 1994 Ted Williams set, got into a scuffle with the fan. More drunks poured onto the field and surrounded Burroughs. Billy Martin led a charge of Rangers armed with bats to rescue Burroughs. As the crowd closed in on them the Indians charged out of their dugout and into the fray. Several in the crowd and several players were injured. Cleveland player Tom Hilgendorf got hit in the head by a folding chair. Knives and chains were seen in the mob.

With the bases all stolen and a hunting knife landing not too far from him, umpiring crew chief Nestor Chylak called the game as a forfeit in favor of Texas. He later said he had never seen such behavior outside a zoo. Shortly after the game was called the riot squad arrived and cleared the stadium. Major League baseball then cancelled all further ten cent beer nights for the season.

Four Rangers go to All-Star game.

Just a quick post to say congratulations to Josh Hamilton on being elected to the All-Star game.

Adrian Beltre, C.J. Wilson, and Michael Young, shown here on card number 60 of the 2005 Absolute Memorabilia set, are also going. Beltre and Young as reserves, Wilson as one of Ron Washington's choices. Congratulations guys, hope you enjoy the experience. I am guessing that unless the team starts playing dramatically better this may be the high point of the season.

Hope that everyone has a safe and happy Independence Day today.

Nellie marks birthday with Fish fry.

Yesterday was Nelson Cruz's birthday. To mark the occasion he hammered the Marlins in Arlington. Nellie, shown here on card number 241 of the 2007 Topps Chrome set, went 2-for-5 last night. That's not particularly noteworthy but Cruz made the most of his hits with a home run and a triple. Nellie scored twice and knocked in six RBI.

Josh Hamilton (2-for-2), Adrian Beltre (3-for-4), and Taylor Teagarden (3-for-5) all had an excellent night at the plate as well as the Rangers scored 15 runs.

Starting pitcher Alexi Ogando took advantage of the offensive production. Alexi went six scoreless before giving up a couple of runs in the seventh. Nice to see the Ogando of the early part of the season.

In addition to the two runs surrendered by Ogando in the seventh, Florida also pushed three across in the ninth. Final: 15-5 Texas. Happy birthday Nelson!