Hunter expects to have some fun in Game 4

Tommy Hunter, who will start ALCS Game 4 for the Rangers, knows he'll hear a lot of chants from the Yankee Stadium crowd tonight, and very few of them will be all that nice.

But Hunter, 24, laughed off a question about whether he'll get intimidated.

"I had Mom screaming at me when I was 12,'' he said, "and that's probably more intimidating than people I don't know."

Chosen by the Rangers with the 54th pick in the 2007 amateur draft, Hunter developed quickly, making his major-league debut in 2008.

After going 9-6 with a 4.10 ERA in 19 starts in 2009, Hunter started this season in Triple-A but was called up in June. He threw a complete game in his first start and has been with the Rangers ever since. He finished 13-4 with a 3.73 ERA in 23 games, including 22 starts.

Listed at 6-3 and 280 pounds, he looks like a strikeout pitcher but actually pitches mostly to contact. He struck out only 68 in 128 innings this season.

Ron Washington referred to Hunter's demeanor on and off the mound as "loose," and Hunter seemed to take pride when his manager's description was relayed to him.

"It's just a baseball game," he said. "You've got to have fun. You've been doing it since you were little. Why not be a kid when you're big?"

Hunter will make his first appearance at Yankee Stadium tonight, and that excites him. "I think it's pretty fun," he said. "Gets blood going, gets adrenaline going. Especially when you see people waving flags and stuff. Gives you goose bumps. Yeah, I get them. Everybody gets them."