Loe highlights Rangers victory
MINNEAPOLIS -- One day before he pitched a Labor Day gem, Kameron Loe had talked about how he feels "at home" as a starter. Then he took the mound against an opponent with Wild Card aspirations and looked as comfortable in the Metrodome as most people look in their overstuffed living-room recliner.
Loe continued to wave bye-bye to his bullpen days with a five-hit shutout through eight innings as the Rangers grabbed a 7-0 victory over the Twins. That's three wins in three starts for Loe, who hasn't allowed an earned run to the Twins in 14 1/3 innings.
Loe felt so good that he wanted to go for a complete-game shutout, but manager Buck Showalter decided 103 pitches were enough for the 6-foot-8 right-hander.
"This [starting] is what I've wanted to do for a very long time," Loe said. "I'm just happy the manager keeps giving me the ball."
Loe can rest assured he'll keep getting the ball every five days as long as his performance level stays where it has been since he was moved into the rotation on Aug. 26. He has allowed only two earned runs in 19 innings as a starter, and has consistently stretched his outings from five to six to eight innings.
Loe had an opportunity for a shutout because Kevin Mench threw out Lew Ford at the plate in the second inning after Ford tagged at third on a foul fly to left field. The ball wasn't very deep, but Mench had to make a strong and accurate throw and Gerald Laird had to make a nice tag. The defense executed and a pumped-up Loe took it from there.
Sometimes, a young pitcher can have initial success against a team, but then the offense makes adjustments the next time they face him. But the Twins didn't have any more success against Loe in the Metrodome than they did when Loe blanked them for five innings on Aug. 26 at Ameriquest Field.
"They had seen him before and that's what makes it even more impressive," Showalter said. "They obviously had a good idea what he was going to try to do."
Whereas the Twins had seven lefty hitters against the side-wheeling Loe in Arlington, they had only five lefty hitters on Monday. Loe said he figured the lefty hitters might be diving out to get his fastball sinking away, so he made sure he came inside to combat that strategy.
"I went inside on lefties a few times and kept them honest," Loe said.
The Rangers (68-70) are beginning to see some positive signs for 2006 with the emergence of some young starters. Chris Young was the August Player of the Month, and both Juan Dominguez and Loe have come on strong in recent weeks.
"It's encouraging," Showalter said.
The Twins had a tough day all the way around with right fielder Jacque Jones losing one fly ball after banging into the wall, and another when he mistimed his jump near the wall and felt the ball pop out of his glove for an error that enabled Texas to score its second run.
It stayed 2-0 until the seventh, when the Rangers capitalized on more shaky Minnesota defense. With two on and two outs, second baseman Nick Punto botched Laird's grounder. David Dellucci made the Twins pay with a three-run double to left-center.
"When you get an opportunity like that, you really want to bear down and take advantage," Dellucci said. "I knew that if I could come through in that situation, we could blow the doors open."
The Twins went to highly touted prospect Francisco Liriano for mop-up duty in the ninth. But Liriano got a rude welcome to the Major Leagues when Gary Matthews Jr. worked a 3-1 count and then blasted a 438-foot homer to left.
The day belonged exclusively to Loe and the Rangers. For the big right-hander with big dreams for a long career as a starter, this was a holiday he won't soon forget.
Source: http://texas.rangers.mlb.com/
Loe continued to wave bye-bye to his bullpen days with a five-hit shutout through eight innings as the Rangers grabbed a 7-0 victory over the Twins. That's three wins in three starts for Loe, who hasn't allowed an earned run to the Twins in 14 1/3 innings.
Loe felt so good that he wanted to go for a complete-game shutout, but manager Buck Showalter decided 103 pitches were enough for the 6-foot-8 right-hander.
"This [starting] is what I've wanted to do for a very long time," Loe said. "I'm just happy the manager keeps giving me the ball."
Loe can rest assured he'll keep getting the ball every five days as long as his performance level stays where it has been since he was moved into the rotation on Aug. 26. He has allowed only two earned runs in 19 innings as a starter, and has consistently stretched his outings from five to six to eight innings.
Loe had an opportunity for a shutout because Kevin Mench threw out Lew Ford at the plate in the second inning after Ford tagged at third on a foul fly to left field. The ball wasn't very deep, but Mench had to make a strong and accurate throw and Gerald Laird had to make a nice tag. The defense executed and a pumped-up Loe took it from there.
Sometimes, a young pitcher can have initial success against a team, but then the offense makes adjustments the next time they face him. But the Twins didn't have any more success against Loe in the Metrodome than they did when Loe blanked them for five innings on Aug. 26 at Ameriquest Field.
"They had seen him before and that's what makes it even more impressive," Showalter said. "They obviously had a good idea what he was going to try to do."
Whereas the Twins had seven lefty hitters against the side-wheeling Loe in Arlington, they had only five lefty hitters on Monday. Loe said he figured the lefty hitters might be diving out to get his fastball sinking away, so he made sure he came inside to combat that strategy.
"I went inside on lefties a few times and kept them honest," Loe said.
The Rangers (68-70) are beginning to see some positive signs for 2006 with the emergence of some young starters. Chris Young was the August Player of the Month, and both Juan Dominguez and Loe have come on strong in recent weeks.
"It's encouraging," Showalter said.
The Twins had a tough day all the way around with right fielder Jacque Jones losing one fly ball after banging into the wall, and another when he mistimed his jump near the wall and felt the ball pop out of his glove for an error that enabled Texas to score its second run.
It stayed 2-0 until the seventh, when the Rangers capitalized on more shaky Minnesota defense. With two on and two outs, second baseman Nick Punto botched Laird's grounder. David Dellucci made the Twins pay with a three-run double to left-center.
"When you get an opportunity like that, you really want to bear down and take advantage," Dellucci said. "I knew that if I could come through in that situation, we could blow the doors open."
The Twins went to highly touted prospect Francisco Liriano for mop-up duty in the ninth. But Liriano got a rude welcome to the Major Leagues when Gary Matthews Jr. worked a 3-1 count and then blasted a 438-foot homer to left.
The day belonged exclusively to Loe and the Rangers. For the big right-hander with big dreams for a long career as a starter, this was a holiday he won't soon forget.
Source: http://texas.rangers.mlb.com/
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