Thoughts on an 11-4 Rangers win – Lone Star Ball
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Photo by John Cordes/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Rangers 11, Angels 4
Lots of runs, once again. What is this sorcery?
Patrick Corbin once again did what Patrick Corbin was signed to do, which is give the Rangers innings and not be blown up. After going five innings against the Angels, Corbin has gone at least five innings in thirteen straight starts. He’s allowed three runs or less in 15 of his 17 starts.
And Bruce Bochy got to finish out the game with the two long men, Jacob Latz getting ten outs and Dane Dunning the final two.
Latz threw 54 pitches, as he continues to embrace the long man role.
The Rangers, meanwhile, chased Angels starter Jack Kochanowicz early, forcing Anaheim to lean on the newly promoted Carson Fulmer for 5.1 innings, as well as to turn to Kevin Newman for the second time in three games.
Texas appeared poised to blow things open in the first inning, registering four straight one out singles followed by a walk, giving them a 2-0 lead with the bases loaded. Evan Carter hit into a GIDP to end the inning, and there was the sense of, well, dangit, maybe that will come back to haunt us.
There was no haunting, though. Seven runs came across in the third, all with two outs, in a virtual runstravaganza.
That made it a 9-0 lead in the third inning. Amazing! Astounding! That sort of thing has been in short supply lately.
The other two runs came on an Adolis Garcia home run in the eighth, and that was off of Fulmer, not Newman, so that home run counts.
Once again, I find myself wondering, are we finally seeing the real Texas Rangers offense, the offense we thought would be the strength of this team coming into the season?
Let’s look at Marcus Semien. He went 4 for 5, raising his slash line on the season to .239/.318/.366. That’s kind of remarkable, given how miserable his first two months of the season were.
Arbitrary Endpoints Alert! After going 0 for 3 on May 28, Semien had a .173/.260/.224 slash line on the year. Since then, in 37 games, he is slashing .329/.396/.559.
Since his three day mental break, Adolis Garcia is slashing .265/.306/.417 in 33 games, which isn’t prime Adolis, but which is probably a little better than a 100 OPS+, given how the Shed has played this year.
Evan Carter was 2 for 5, and since his low water mark on June 6, he’s slashing .313/.400/.494 in 24 games.
Every Ranger starter had a hit in the game, except for Alejandro Osuna, who drew a walk, and Josh Smith, who drew a pair of walks. Things seem to be clicking with the offense right now. The Rangers come out of the break with nine straight games at home, giving them an opportunity to start the second half strong.
Its an uphill battle, but there’s signs, positive signs, that we can point to. Cling to, even.
Patrick Corbin’s sinker maxed out at 93.5 mph, averaging 92.6 mph. Jacob Latz topped out at 94.9 mph with his fastball. Dane Dunning touched 92.2 mph with his sinker.
Corey Seager had a 105.5 mph single. Adolis Garcia’s home run was 105.3 mph. Alejandro Osuna had a 102.5 mph ground out. Marcus Semien had a 102.4 mph ground out. Evan Carter had a 101.5 mph GIDP. Wyatt Langford had a 100.7 mph single.
A split in Anaheim, and now three in Houston before the All Star Break.
