The Texas Rangers got a sterling effort out of Adrian Sampson in a 5-1 victory over the Kansas City Royals today and they didn’t even need an opener to shepherd him through that harrowing first inning.
No, indeed, Sampson just looked like a good starting pitcher having the line of his life as he went seven innings and allowed only a solo home run off the bat of Jorge Soler to mar his ledger.
Sampson walked none and struck out a career-high 11 Royals to earn his first big league win as a traditional starter after picking up a few victories hurling as a primary pitcher following an opener over his last several appearances.