On March 30, at the Alamodome, 40,596 people gathered to catch a glimpse of the 2013 Texas Rangers. The Rangers finished their two-game exhibition series in San Antonio with a 5-2 victory over the San Diego Padres.

Rangers’ manager Ron Washington sat many of his starters Saturday in order to keep them fresh for their regular season opener against the Houston Astros Sunday night. The lineup did feature starter Mitch Moreland, Leonys Martin, Craig Gentry and number-one-rated prospect Jurickson Profar.

Derek Holland took the mound Saturday for his last tune-up before the regular season began. Holland pitched four solid innings with six strikeouts and no runs allowed.

“He was locked in, he had a good breaking ball, good change-up today, moved his fastball around well. He was ready today and he certainly pitched extremely well,” said Manager Washington

Rangers third baseman Jeff Baker took advantage of three straight walks by Padres pitcher Jason Marquis in the first inning when he hit a two run double to give them a 2-0 lead.

Rangers’ second baseman Leury Garcia hit a three-run home run after the Padres walked two straight batters to extend their lead to 5-0.

The Padres tried to claw their way back into the game with two solo home runs by Chris Denoforia, but the Rangers went on to win 5-2.

With the win, the Rangers finished spring training at 17-17.

Ron Washington believes that his team is ready for the regular season. “We’re beginning to put it together. We were aggressive on the base paths here. We executed the fundamentals. We’ve been pitching well. We’ve been catching the ball. We’re ready to go.”

Overall, Big League Weekend was a huge success for the city of San Antonio. Over 72,000 people attended the weekend series. Washington said that the experience in San Antonio was tremendous.

“I thought the fans were very excited about the games. They were into the ball game. I certainly hope that on the weekend (the fans) don’t mind taking that drive down to Arlington and watching us, I hope we got us some fans. I think they are becoming Texas Ranger fans. I want to thank them for their hospitality.”