G160: Rangers bomb Lackey & Angels, win 12-1

Whie Vicente Padilla has been a pretty decent pitcher this year, I don't think anyone expected him to beat John Lackey. This is a guy that normally beats us (at least it feels that way). So I think it was rather a big surprise when the Rangers unloaded on Lackey, especially after the way we were mowed down the last time we faced him. Look at this:

Lackey on Sep 21st:
6IP, 0ER, 2H, 3BB, 12K, 110P

Lackey on Sep 28th:
2.2IP, 10ER, 12H, 2BB, 1K, 73P

That's a major difference. I was quite surprised when we started unloading on John Lackey, you just don't do that. It was so bad that in the third or fourth innings, every single Angel position player was changed. Only one player remained, and he changed position, but the eight other defenders in the field were different players. That really felt like a game played in March, not in late September.

It was bad (for Anaheim). Every Rangers starter got in on the hit parade. We had 19 in all. Six doubles, one triple, two home runs, and a pile of singles. The Rangers scored one in the first, seven in the second, two in the third, two in the fourth, and that was actually it. All the scoring was in the first four innings. However, the six doubles were notable as they tied an all time major league record. They now have 373 doubles for the season, which ties the 1930 Cardinals, and the 1997 and 2004 Red Sox for the all time lead. Given we still have two games left, one would think breaking the record would not be a problem. :)

The Rangers staff was quite good today, but that pretty much got overlooked by Lackey's (lack of) performance. Combined, the Rangers pitchers went 9 innings, gave up just five hits, and one run on five walks, and ten strikeouts. It's the kind of performance that wins you a lot of games, but it's the kind of performance the Texas Rangers don't normally get a lot of.

The win did clinch second place for the Rangers in 2008, something that the Rangers have never actually done, since the alignment went to a four team AL West.

Why o Why could we not do this more often than not during the season?