What is the story about?
Astros
10, Rangers 7
- We needed that.
- And by “we” I mean the team, the fans, the coaching staff, the front office, the media…everyone needed that.
- Coming off being no-hit by a Houston Astros team that had taken a no hitter into the ninth against the Rangers just a week and a half earlier, and having been one hit for most of Sunday’s game, things seemed to be at an inflexion point. The 35 runs scored in a five game stretch last week? Forgotten.
- I braced myself for a 1-2-3 first inning, for there to be displeasure and rumbling in the crowd, for there to be another low scoring game full of offensive misery.
- So putting a snowman on the board in the first inning…calling it a relief would be an understatement. It was a catharsis.
- And look, it would have been nice if the offense didn’t disappear again for most of the rest of the game. I get that.
- But you put eight runs on the board in the first, I’m going to cut you some slack for not putting up a bunch of crooked numbers the rest of the way.
- It also would have been nice if the Rangers could have kept it a blowout, but twas not to be. Jack Leiter had some sporadic command issues, walking three and hitting a pair of batters. He got dinged for four runs, three of them coming on a Yordan Alvarez bomb that went really, really far.
- More on that momentarily.
- Jakob Junis and Jalen Beeks were asked to get the Rangers to the ninth inning. Junis did his job, with a 1-2-3 inning, but Beeks retired just two of the five batters he faced, giving up moon shots to Alvarez and Cam Smith, then allowing a Zach Dezenzo double before Skip Schumaker had seen enough and summoned Jacob Latz for a four inning save.
- Latz hadn’t pitched since May 20 in Colorado, and this was just his second outing since the last game of the previous homestand, where he allowed three runs and didn’t retire anyone, but the Rangers came back in the bottom of the ninth to win anyway.
- Speaking of bullpen usage, Chris Martin started warming up in the sixth. Given he was one of the two relievers who pitched the day before, and given he’s just come off the injured list and has not been the picture of durability the last year-plus, getting him up at that point versus one of the various guys who hadn’t pitched the day before seemed curious.
- Latz gave up a really long homer to Jeremy Pena in the ninth, but it was just a solo shot, so it was okay. The Rangers still won.
- Every Ranger got a hit except for Justin Foscue, who took a collar, and Alejandro Osuna, who drew a walk.
- As the broadcast noted, every Ranger except Foscue scored in the first inning. That’s fun.
- Evan Carter, who has been in a slump, went 3 for 4 and was a double shy of a cycle. Joc Pederson capped off the big first inning with a two out, three run homer. Ezequiel Duran blasted a double to dead center that would have been out of a lot of parks.
- That double by Duran, incidentally, came in at 415 feet, per Statcast — the longest any ball has been hit at the Shed by a Ranger this year, and the 13th longest by any player at the Shed this year.
- The three longest balls hit at the Shed this year came in this game by the Astros — Smith, Pena and Alvarez had homers of 457 feet, 454 feet and 449 feet. The next longest was by Oneil Cruz back in April, at 432 feet. The only other balls that carried at least 420 feet at the Shed this year were an Aaron Judge 424 foot homer, an Ildemaro Vargas 422 foot homer, and Alvarez’s other homer in this game, which also went 422 feet.
- Oh, and Brandon Nimmo had a fly out that Statcast has at 407 feet, which is the 20th longest ball in play at the Shed this year, and the third farthest hit by a Ranger player.
- Weird, huh?
- I have long said that the Rangers know why the ball isn’t carrying in the Shed since the start of 2025, that it was something they engineered to make the park more pitcher-friendly. And I think the offensive struggles, culminating in the no hitter on Memorial Day, led them to say, okay, we have to pull the plug on this, or at least nerf the effect so it isn’t making the park so pitcher friendly.
- Jack Leiter’s fastball topped out at 98.4 mph. Jakob Junis hit 92.6 mph with his fastball. Jalen Beeks’ fastball reached 94.5 mph. Jacob Latz maxed out at 96.1 mph with his fastball.
- Jake Burger had a 110.0 mph single. Brandon Nimmo had a 105.9 mph line out and a 100.3 mph fly out. Joc Pederson had a 102.4 mph home run. Ezequiel Duran had a 102.3 mph double. Evan Carter had a 101.2 mph homer.
- The Battle for the Silver Boot continues.
