Phil Maton throws a pitch against the Diamondbacks.
The Texas Rangers Bullpen had a tough time as they blew back to back games against the Diamondbacks. Following the walk-off win on Monday, the Rangers were winning 2-1 entering the seventh inning. Jack Leiter had given them five innings of one run ball which should be enough to help the team win.
Robert Garcia, who lost the closer role, would enter the game. Chaos would immediately ensue, Garcia would knock down a comebacker and kick it while trying to pick it up. He would rush the throw to first and miss badly that would allow the runner to take second.
Another fielding error would move the runner to third and put another one on first. Ketel Marte would tie the game up with a soft single that didn’t leave the infield. Garcia escaped the inning, but the damage was done, and the Rangers now need to score again.
The game would remain tied until the ninth inning where Danny Coulombe got the first two batters to strike out. He would face Ketel Marte and he would take a slider deep to give the Diamondbacks the lead. That was the first run that he allowed in a Rangers uniform and the first homer that he allowed all year.
The offense couldn’t get anything going and the team would lose. They went 0 for 9 with runners in scoring poistion and only managed to get one hit over the last six innings.
In the series finale, the Rangers would go into the ninth inning with a two run lead. Josh Jung delivered an insurance run, driving in Jake Burger with two outs.Phil Maton would get the opportunity to close the game out.
He got off to a good start as he struck out the first two batters on three pitches each. Then he would leave a slider in the zone that James McCann would take deep. The Rangers still had the lead, so he just need to record one out and they would win.
He would hit Blaze Alexander with a pitch which turn it over to the top of the Diamondbacks order. He walked Perdomo on four pitches, appearing to lose his confidence. The next at bat seemed to confirm that. Ketel Marte would step up and blast a curveball into the seats for a three run shot giving the Dimaondbacks a 6-4.
When Maton got out of the inning on the next batter, his final line was ugly. 4 runs allowed on 2 hits, 1 walk, 1 hit by pitch, and 3 strikeouts in 1.1 innings. After the game, he said that the issue was complete loss of his cutter and curveball.
The loss moves the team down to 61-61. They will take on the Toronto Blue Jays in some must win games if they want to keep their playoff hopes alive.
Tags: danny coulombe Jack Leiter MLB phil maton Robert Garcia Texas Rangers
Categorized:Rangers