Thoughts on an 8-3 Rangers loss – Lone Star Ball
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Photo by Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Pirates 8, Rangers 3
Well, it was a Meat Loaf series, I guess.
Rather a lousy way to finish things out in Pittsburgh, though.
Kind of a disappointing game all around, really.
King of a weird game for Jack Leiter. He seemed to be fine for three innings, although he struggled to put away hitters and needed more pitches than you’d have liked. After striking out Nick Gonzales to start the fourth — just his second K of the game — three straight singles brought home a run, and then a sac fly brought home another to make it 2-2. He got IKF to fly out to end the inning, but after a walk to O’Neil Cruz to start the fifth, Bruce Bochy pulled him in favor of Caleb Boushley.
The appearance of Boushley also saw the floodgates open in the fifth, as the Pirates ended up putting five runs across in the inning, turning a 2-2 game where the Rangers were kicking themselves for squandering chances to a 7-2 deficit.
The Rangers got a walk and a single to start the sixth, after that disastrous bottom of the fifth, and then the Pirates retired the next 12 Rangers hitters to end the game. Adolis Garcia, who drew the walk, did score in the sixth on a fielder’s choice to give the Rangers a third run, which, I guess that’s good. Better an 8-3 loss than an 8-2 loss, right?
The Rangers had taken a 2-0 lead in the second and seemed to be in position to score more in the inning, with runners on first and second and one out after a Josh Jung RBI single. Ezequiel Duran, though, hit into a 5-4-3 GIDP, and while there was consideration of challenging it, Bruce Bochy opted not to, and the rally ended.
The innings that will have the Rangers kicking themselves, though are the third and the fifth. Sam Haggerty started off the third with a double, and Wyatt Langford then walked. Two on, no one out, 2-0 lead, Texas seemingly was poised to do some real damage.
But no. Corey Seager popped out, Marcus Semien flied out, and after a wild pitch moved the runners up, Adolis Garcia scorched a grounder that Ke’Bryan Hayes made a diving stop on, allowing him to throw out Adolis at first and save a pair of runs.
Fifth inning, once again, two on and no one out on a Duran infield single and a Haggerty walk. Langford fouled out, Seager struck out swinging, and Semien grounded out, and that was that.
At least in the sixth, they got one of the two runners that got on base to start the inning home.
Jack Leiter’s sinker topped out at 99.5 mph and averaged 97.3 mph, while his fastball hit 99.1 mph and averaged 97.2 mph. Caleb Bousley’s fastball topped out at 94.3 mph.
Sam Haggerty had a 106.7 mph double. Marcus Semien had a 104.7 mph ground out. Jonah Heim had a 104.4 mph single and a 103.7 mph line out. Adolis Garcia had a 102.6 mph ground out.
Two of three on the road heading into Baltimore, approaching that halfway mark of the season.
