WHAT WENT RIGHT
• Right-hander Nick Martinez continued his torrid start with six solid innings in Tuesday's 7-1 victory. Martinez did allow his first earned run of the season and didn't figure in the decision but he became just the second pitcher in club history to open the season with three-straight starts of at least six innings while allowing one or zero runs.
• If Martinez isn't the most valuable pitcher for the Rangers so far that honor would have to go to Shawn Tolleson. Tolleson struck out three of the four batters he faced in the Tuesday game, lowering his ERA on the season to 1.23. Right-hander hitters now have just one hit off Tolleson.
• First baseman Prince Fielder has been the lone offensive bright spot for Texas and he finally notched his first homer of the season in Tuesday's game. Fielder also drove in three and is now the club leader with nine RBI.
• The Rangers showed some of the aggressiveness on the base paths that manager Jeff Banister said would be a trademark of the team. Texas had four steals in Tuesday's game, including one from Adrian Beltre. The four steals matches a major-league high for the season.
WHAT WENT WRONG
• While the Rangers offense was good Tuesday it was awful Wednesday against rookie Archie Bradley, who couldn't throw strikes but still had a no-hitter until the fifth inning. Bradley walked five, hit a batter and threw 37 pitches alone in the first inning. But the offense was hard to come by until late for Texas despite seven walks as the club matched its season total by grounding into four double plays.
• The defense remains a work in progress. The Rangers had three errors in Wednesday's 8-5 loss and now have made 15 errors, which has them tied with Oakland for the most in the American League.
• Yovani Gallardo struggled in Wednesday's loss by allowing five runs in his five innings of work. He didn't get much help behind him as Adrian Beltre had an ugly throwing error in the first inning and Prince Fielder was also charged with an error.
• At some point Shin-Soo Choo is going to get hot. It hasn't happened yet. Choo was hitless in the series and is now batting .074 over the last nine games with just two hits. That's not going to get it done for a middle-of-the-order hitter.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Rangers get their third off day in a week Thursday before heading to Anaheim for a three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels. The series kicks off with the Texas debut of left-hander Wandy Rodriguez, who will draw the start Friday. Rodriguez and the Rangers will try and change their fortunes against the Angels. Texas has already dropped two of three this season and is just 4-15 against Los Angeles in the last 19 meetings. The good news is the Rangers have had success in Disneyland, winning two of the three series in California last year.
