What is the story about?
Rangers
6, Guardians 3
- That’s five in a row.
- Number five being a particularly unexpected and surprising triumph.
- The Rangers used an opener who was pitching for a third straight day, having picked up saves in the previous two games.
- They used a bulk guy/shadow starter who, at the start of the day, was a free agent, a guy who was signed to a contract just a few hours before game time.
- Three players in the starting lineup began the year in AAA. One began with another organization, was sold to a second organization two months ago, and was released a month ago. Two began the season as backups for the Rangers. One was Evan Carter against a lefty.
- Scott Lucas had this to say about it:
- And yet, this lineup beat a first place Guardians team, on the road, with their best starting pitcher on the mound.
- (And yes, the Guardians were tied for first, and the loss knocked them into second place, but the point stands).
- Over the weekend, Kevin Sherrington wrote a column warning Rangers fans that the team wouldn’t be buying at the deadline, because Ray Davis is a labor hawk who really wants a cap and doesn’t want to spend money on the team. Sherrington explained the logic behind not buying or adding payroll at the deadline:
- “Davis surely sees it’s going to take more than a single starter or reliever or hitter to make the Rangers contenders. Even for a watered-down playoff run. Sooner or later, you still have to play the Yankees or Rays.”
- These sorts of dismissive statements make me nuts. First of all, its acting like making the playoffs doesn’t have value in and of itself, that if you don’t win it all — or at least make the World Series — you might as well not make the postseason. That’s crap.
- But secondly, it ignores the fact that this is baseball. Lesser teams win short series all the team. Bad teams beat good teams regularly. Even the worst teams win around 40% of their games over the course of a full season, the equivalent of going 7-10 in the NFL.
- You gotta be in it to win it, but once you’re in it, you’re always going to have a puncher’s chance in a short series.
- This was a game the Rangers shouldn’t have won, based on the lineups and the starting pitchers. Hell, even in the game itself, the Rangers weren’t exactly mowing down the Guardians and ripping blasts all over the park. The Rangers struck out five of the 38 batters they faced, and gave up a home run. The Guardians pitchers struck out ten Rangers and didn’t give up any homers.
- The longest ball hit by a Ranger was, per Statcast, a Jake Burger single that went 289 feet. The next farthest was a 229 foot double by Justin Foscue. Only two other Rangers put a ball in play that went at least 200 feet in the air.
- The Rangers’ xBA, per Statcast, was just .203. The Guardians hitters, who weren’t exactly teeing off on the Rangers pitchers themselves, had a .253 xBA.
- Its the type of game where, when the Rangers are on the other side of it, we ask why it is that we never win a game like that. Why we can’t roll out a pitcher just grabbed off the scrap heap and a spring training away game lineup and win by multiple runs on the road.
- Tyler Alexander did his job, throwing a scoreless first. Chris Paddack gave the Rangers four innings, struck out just one of 19 batters faced, allowed seven hits — including a Gabriel Arias home run — and yet allowed just a pair of runs.
- Robby Ahlstrom threw a scoreless inning, which was time perfectly in terms of the Rangers taking the lead to allow him to pick up his third major league win.
- Jakob Junis — one of the Rangers lockdown relievers — ended up being the other Texas pitcher to allow a run, allowing a pair of singles and then throwing a wild pitch in the seventh. Jacob Latz, once again tasked with handling a save situation requiring him to enter the game in the eighth, retired all six batters he faced.’
- Guardians fans have to be flummoxed. Bewildered. Vexed.
- The Rangers got on the board with a Josh Jung double — is it just me, or does he double just about every game? — and a Jake Burger groundout. After Cleveland took the lead, Evan Carter led off the following inning by reaching on a dribbler single, just his second hit against a lefthanded pitcher this year, and ultimately scored on a Burger single.
- They took the lead on a Cam Cauley triple — his first major league hit — in the seventh, a Nicky Lopez single, and a Justin Foscue double.
- Read that sentence again.
- Two insurance runs were added in the ninth on an Alejandro Osuna single, a Cauley walk, another weakly hit Carter grounder that found a hole to load the bases, and a Foscue double.
- Always expect the unexpected.
- Texas is now a game above .500, a half game up on the Mariners in the A.L. West, two games ahead of the Astros, and three games ahead of the Athletics.
- They’ve won six games on this ten game road trip.
- I’m not going to say that the Rangers are in a great place right now, but all things considered, it could be a whole lot worse.
- Tyler Alexander hit 92.9 mph with his fastball. Chris Paddack’s fastball topped out at 94.5 mph. Robby Ahlstrom reached 94.8 mph with his fastball. Jakob Junis touched 94.2 mph with his fastball. Jacob Latz maxed out at 96.8 mph with his fastball.
- Jake Burger had a 104.4 mph single. Kyle Higashioka had a 100.2 mph groundout.
- Eight down, two to go.
