Thoughts on a 3-1 Rangers win – Lone Star Ball
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Jim Cowsert-Imagn Images
Rangers 3, ChiSox 1
A successful bullpen game. That’s like found money!
Seven members of the Rangers’ nine man bullpen were asked to pitch, with only Caleb Boushley and Jacob Latz not getting into the action.
Shawn Armstrong, leading things off, was easily the most impressive of the septet, as he retired all nine batters he faced, five of them via strikeout.
I was even starting to contemplate the notion of a no-hitter when Luis Robert reached on an infield single with two outs in the fifth, a play where he was initially called out but which was reversed on replay.
Only twice were Rangers pitchers in any sort of difficult, though both times it was pretty difficult. In the seventh, Hoby Milner retired the first batter he faced before going single-single-double, making the score 3-1 with runners on second and third. Chris Martin came to the rescue, though, with a K and a fly out to end the rally.
Then in the ninth, Robert Garcia started the inning with a double and a walk, then issued a two out walk to pinch hitter Austin Slater to load the bases before fanning Michael Taylor on three pitches.
Also notable — Cole Winn pitched another scoreless inning, and still hasn’t allowed a run in the majors this year, or an earned run in the majors or minors this year.
The lineup needed to catch its breath after the 16 run game on Thursday, and so wasn’t quite as dynamic as we’d have hoped, though three runs sufficed. Josh Smith’s homer to lead off the bottom of the first gave the Rangers a lead they never surrendered, and they added single runs in the third and the fifth.
Would we have liked to have had more runs and more hits and all that? Sure. Maybe they are saving them for Saturday.
The one downer was that Evan Carter apparently jammed his wrist while making a great diving catch in the fourth inning. He stayed in the game for a while, including batting in the bottom of the fifth, but he was replaced by Sam Haggerty at the start of the seventh inning. Carter has been tearing it up, and so we would like for him not to have to miss time.
Shawn Armstrong’s sinker touched 96.2 mph. Jacob Webb hit 94.3 mph with his fastball. Luke Jackson’s fastball topped out at 94.6 mph. Hoby Milner’s fastball hit 88.6 mph. Chris Martin maxed out at 94.9 mph with his sinker. Cole Winn’s sinker reached 96.8 mph. Robert Garcia’s fastball hit 95.9 mph.
Jake Burger had a 109.4 mph ground out. Adolis Garcia had a 102.4 mph line out. Josh Smith had a 101.9 mph home run. Marcus Semien had a 100.0 mph ground out.
Need to keep the good vibes going on Saturday afternoon, since I’m going to be at the game.
