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It had been 261 days since Roy Oswalt last toed the rubber in a Major League Baseball game. You wouldn’t have been able to guess so from the results the 34-year old delivered to his newest employer on Friday night. The Texas Rangers were always rumored to be the target destination for Oswalt in 2012. In his first appearance with the club, he looked right at home.
Oswalt threw 110 pitches, 81 of which were strikes, over 6.2 IP against the Colorado Rockies, allowing just 1 run on 9 hits and a walk, striking out six. Oswalt now has a career 9-2 record against Colorado with a 1.89 ERA. Oswalt was effective despite his average velocity on his fastball being 91.5 MPH, down from his career average of 93.4 MPH. He did touch 93 MPH against Colorado, though. Whatever expectations may have been placed on Oswalt before this outing, it is safe to say he certainly met or exceeded every one of them.
Oswalt has instantly become the oldest starting pitcher on the Rangers roster, but he is not the oldest pitcher. That title belongs to the 37-year old closer, Joe Nathan. You may recall that Nathan had Tommy John surgery in 2010, returned to pitching in 2011, but didn’t look like himself until very late in the year. Then, after signing a 2-year, $14.5 million deal with the Rangers, Nathan began 2012 0-2 with a blown save in his first four appearances.
Nathan has turned it around to the point that he is having one of the best seasons of his 12-year career. Since that rough start and his lone blown save of the season on April 11th, Nathan has been lights out. Since May 13th, he has been something beyond lights out. Here are the numbers for Nathan this year:
Full year: 29.2 IP, 2 BB, 36 SO, 1.52 ERA, 15 saves in 16 opportunities.
Since April 11: 25.2 IP, 2 BB, 31 SO, 0.35 ERA, 14 saves in 14 opportunities.
Since May 13: 16.0 IP, 0 BB, 21 SO, 0.00 ERA, 9 saves in 9 opportunities.
For a signing that was heavily doubted, it appears that Joe Nathan will be worth every penny. He and Roy Oswalt certainly bump up the average age of the Rangers pitching staff, but on this night their veteran leadership manifested itself not just in the clubhouse, but on the field.
The Texas Rangers are now on a 7-game win streak, and are winners of 10 of their last 11. Their 44-27 record is the best start through 71 games in franchise history, and their 17 games over-.500 is still the best record in baseball. Winning pays for the back-to-back American League champions as well, as they tied a franchise record for 21 sellouts in a season on Friday night (they have only had 33 home games this year). The Rangers run differential sits at +97, edging ever closer to the century mark. Texas has enjoyed the dividends of interleague play, collecting a 13-3 record against the Rockies, Padres, Astros, and Diamondbacks. Interleague play was a big part of the Rangers success in 2010 as well, when they posted a 14-4 record against National League opponents. In this 7-game win streak, the Rangers are outscoring opponents 40-15.
The Angels and Athletics keep winning games, too, so the division lead for the Rangers hasn’t grown substantially. If things continue to play out as they are, the Rangers are going to be very grateful they have taken care of business over the last two weeks. Injuries and all, Texas is still finding ways to win.
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