What is the story about?
Rangers
4, Angels 1
- Nothing like starting a road trip with a win.
- MacKenzie Gore was good, if not terribly efficient, needing 103 pitches to get through 23 batters and 5.1 innings of work.
- Gore’s command was not great, as he missed badly quite a bit, which helps explain the elevated pitch count. Still, he issued just two walks in the game, and we’ll take that.
- Gore also generated 22 swings and misses in the game, tied for the 30th most in a game by any pitcher this season, and tied for fourth most by a Ranger pitcher this season.
- The changeup was what particularly befuddled Angels hitters — Gore threw his change 22 times, generating 17 swings, 12 of which resulted in whiffs. That ties him for the 8th most swings and misses on a changeup in a game this season.
- Fun fact…14 times this season, a major league pitcher has gotten 12 or more whiffs on his changeup. Cristopher Sanchez has done it six times, and Tarik Skubal has done it three times.
- Another fun fact…three of those 14 instances, it was the Anaheim Angels who were the victims.
- Gore continues his hot and cold, yes and no, in and out, up and down, wrong and right, black and white, fight and break up, kiss and make up season.
- I know many of you angrily turned off the television when Mike Trout hit that first inning home run off of Gore, consigning the game to the ash bin of failure and watching Mr. Show reruns in a huff.
- And note that I said television, not TV, because TV is a nickname and nicknames are for friends and television is no friend of mine.
- There were a lot of baserunners in this game, given that the score ended up being 4-1.
- The Angels were 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men on base. Angels fans would probably be mad about that if they hadn’t had their souls sucked out of them by virtue of being Angels fans the past however many years.
- The Rangers were an acceptable 4 for 15 with runners in scoring position. However, three of those hits came in the tenth inning, which feels like it hardly counts. They also left 10 men on base.
- It didn’t have to go to extra innings. Corey Seager hit what appeared to be a go-ahead two out, three run home run in the top of the seventh off of the Tayler Saucedo, only for the immortal Wade Meckler to bring it back and steal it from the Seagbot.
- You may recognize Tayler Saucedo as being the person who red-pilled Pete Crow-Armstrong about Babe Ruth not existing.
- He deserves to give up a home run.
- A cavalcade of bullpen arms did good work for the Rangers behind Gore. Peyton Gore is now 6-0, by virtue of being in the right place at the right time in regards to bullpen utilization and the timing of the Rangers taking the lead.
- In MLB history, there have been 17 rookie pitchers to record at least 6 wins and have no losses in a season. And one of them was in 1899 — Charlie “Piano Legs” Hickman.
- Now, you may be saying to yourself, I’m familiar with ol’ Piano Legs, and he was a position player.
- And you’d be right! He spent his first three seasons with Boston, mostly as a pitcher, was purchased by the New York Giants before the 1900 season, and the Giants mostly had him stop pitching, mostly playing first base and the outfield instead.
- Robbie Ross was 6-0 his rookie season with the Rangers in 2012, as well.
- Both teams ended up using their bullpen heavily — the Rangers used five relievers, the Angels six — which means maybe taking the over for Tuesday’s game.
- The Astros won, so the Rangers are still a half-game back in the West. They are 1.5 games up on Minnesota and Detroit in the Wild Card, though.
- MacKenzie Gore touched 97.6 mph with his fastball, averaging 95.5 mph. Tyer Alexander hit 92.4 mph with his fastball. Chase Silseth reached 95.9 mph with his fastball. Robby Ahlstrom’s fastball topped out at 95.9 mph. Peyton Gray hit 94.0 mph with his fastball. Jacob Latz’s fastball maxed out at 94.8 mph.
- Elias Diaz had a 109.2 mph single and a 101.7 mph groundout. Brandon Nimmo had a 105.8 mph single, a 103.9 mph groundout and a 100.9 mph single. Corey Seager had a 104.3 mph groundout, a 101.3 mph fly out and a 100.7 mph single. Joc Pederson had a 100.2 mph fly out.
- Let’s maintain the momentum. Woo hoo!!!!
