It was almost comical. The Rangers first inning woes struck again. They bury themselves before they even have a chance. In five of their previous six games, they have allowed runs in the first inning: Four, two, three, one, zero, two. They’d lost five of six. 

So, when deGrom allowed five first-inning runs to the Padres last night, it was basically hopeless. The Rangers have a dreadful offense at home, scoring three-and-a-half runs per game. 

Suddenly, you realized, you had your Friday evening back. No reason to waste it watching another miserable Rangers game. 

But then something unheard of happened. The Rangers answered the Padres five-run first with six runs of their own. They got two-game’s worth of offense in one inning. 

Maybe they finally got tired of being the ninety pound weakling having sand kicked in the face at the beach. Maybe they have some pride after all. 

Or maybe it was just a fluke, just one of those rare times the cosmic tumblers line up and unlock the unlikely. 

But deGrom and the Rangers hung in and picked up the rare win, Texas’s fourth in its last twelve games.

Who know if this is the start of something. I guess Rangers fans are going to have to wait to see how many first-inning runs they give the Padres today to see if they can come back again. 

Nine-inning games are more fun than one-inning games. 

*****