The Battle for The Silver Boot

With last night's 7-3 win over the Astro's, our Rangers got one step closer to taking home of the most coveted pieces of hardware in all of sports: The Silver Boot, which is given to the outright winner of The Lonestar Series, played between the Ranger's and the Houston Astro's every year.

Legend has it that they store the boot 2 miles deep underneath the Alamo for safe keeping.

The Ranger's are one win away from capturing this hallowed trophy. CJ Wilson put together a great performance, lasting seven strong innings, battling out of trouble twice in masterful fashion. He also recorded his first career triple, popping up to throw the claw with the incorporating antlers to his hysterical teammates. A shower of boo's immediately followed. Either way, the Ranger's played much better last night, doing what they had to do to insure the win.

Hopefully last night's performance for Josh Hamilton will put the "Blue Eye's Drama" behind him. Finishing with 2 hits, 1 being a solo homer in the third, Josh also flashed a little leather in the 7th, laying out on a dead-sprint to snatch a potential double away from Clint Barmes. It is good to see Josh respond this way after his much needed off day on Sunday. Hopefully this trend will carry over to the afternoon games.

Ian Kinsler also played a great, finishing with 2 hits, 2 walks, and 3 RBI's. If Kins can start to heat up that bat and continue to get on base, good things will follow with the powerful and dangerous lineup behind him.

Also, Elvis Andrus missed another game with a left wrist injury, and most likely won't return to the field until Friday at the earliest. He played catch with Ron Wash before the game, but said he doesn't want to return until there is zero pain. He did say he would be able to pinch-hit or pinch-run if necessary. On this same note, Andres Blanco showed why he has a spot on this roster, and why the Old School Brother trusts in him to play short in Elvis's absence. He was all over the place, showing extreme range and a strong arm, as well as a rare double.

UPDATE: Alexi Ogando will make his next scheduled start, which is supposed to be this Friday, the opener to a 3 game stint with the Florida Marlins. This start was in question for him, and the Ranger's braintrust were thinking about shuffling him around a bit, getting some extra rest after 3 terrible starts in a row. But it is confirmed that he will be starting on Friday. After that is anyone's guess.