As the injuries mounted and the Rangers were forced to make some defensive switches in the eighth inning, second baseman Ian Kinsler heard manager Ron Washington say "Mike is going in."
Kinsler thought Washington was talking about Michael Young, meaning the club would have to lose the designated hitter spot in a three-run game. So Kinsler sprinted down and told Washington he could play third if needed. Washington told Kinsler he was putting Mike Olt out there and not Young, but Kinsler reiterated that he could play the position if needed.
So when the time came to figure out where Jurickson Profar would play with Olt out of the game with a heel injury, Washington shifted Kinsler to third and left Elvis Andrus at short with Profar at second.
♦ Scherzer pacing Tigers' rotation as pennant race heats up (csnchicago.com)
While a standout starter at the University of Missouri, Scherzer had efficiency preached to him by pitching coach Tony Vitello, who kept close tabs on whether his pitchers attacked hitters in three pitches. While it hasn't always materialized in his starts, Scherzer keeps that "A3P" mantra -- which also molded Kansas City's Aaron Crow and Minnesota prospect Kyle Gibson -- in his head.
"I don't track it, per se, the way we did there, but it's definitely on my mind -- first pitch strikes, getting ahead in the count because every successful major-league pitcher does that, and if you're falling behind in the count, you're getting punished in the big leagues," Scherzer said. "It's something that we did in college that 100 percent applies here in the big leagues."
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