"I thought Jesus was comin": The Twins-Rangers Thunder Game

Five years ago Saturday, the first-place Texas Rangers hosted the hapless Minnesota Twins in Arlington. The weathered Roy Oswalt started against Cole De Vries, an anonymous, dorky-looking 27-year-old rookie who had gone undrafted out of the University of Minnesota six years prior and who would be out of baseball two years later. It was the final game before the All-Star break, which meant the Rangers' coaches and eight of their players would be departing for Kansas City soon. (Just one Twin, Joe Mauer, was selected for participation.)

The weather was, as usual, in the mid-90s, hot enough for the teams to hold batting practice in indoor cages rather than outside. The sun was totally visible for most of the first few innings, though clouds gradually crept in.

Eddie Rosario Fixed His Biggest Problem

At the end of April, Eddie Rosario was hitting .268/.294/.366, a line well below his career averages, and one he couldn't afford in his third major league season. At 25 years old and with just one minor league option left on his contract, he was running out of time to prove he could be a multidimensional and productive hitter.