HOUSTON - Even if it was just a first glimpse, it was a glimpse, nonetheless, of what he expected.
Or maybe dreamed about.
Over the final three innings Saturday, Rangers manager Jeff Banister watched his bullpen function exactly as he expected a mere, oh, six weeks ago. He saw them come in, attack hitters with overpowering fastballs for strikes and use sharp breaking pitches for chases.
The result was a 2-1 win over Houston in which the trio of Matt Bush, Jake Diekman and newly-minted closer Sam Dyson simply overwhelmed Houston hitters. They averaged 96.