The Texas Rangers scored four runs but the New York Yankees scored seven runs.
Yankees starter Elmer Rodriguez has had a peculiar beginning to his big league career. The 22-year-old has been a big leaguer for just two games in which he has played and both have been starts against the Rangers, a team not in his division and one that will face New York just six times this year.
Predictably, in his first outing at Yankee Stadium, Rodriguez let the nerves get to him in his first time on the mound in front
of the home fans as he walked the first two batters and faced a bases loaded, no outs situation to start the game. By the end of the top of the first, he had also hit a batter and thrown a wild pitch that scored a run.
Overall, the Rangers benefitted with three runs off Rodriguez during his shaky first home frame but even that felt like a let down. It felt like the Rangers had allowed Rodriguez to escape when they had him and the Yankees on the ropes.
At the time, up 3-0 early, it might have seemed greedy to not be ecstatic about three runs for a club that often has a devil of a time just scoring at all, but not capitalizing on a youngster handing out baserunners with a bigger inning felt like a wasted opportunity to bury the Yankees from the jump, something that could have impacted not only this game but the series going forward.
And, of course, wouldn’t you know it, the Rangers waited until all the way until an out in the ninth to score again and the Yankees — having basically the only productive lineup in the American League — methodically chipped away at the lead until they eventually overtook Texas before blowing the doors open late to essentially render the final few innings an afterthought.
The Rangers had two hits with RISP in the first inning — their first two chances, no less! — to go along with all their other baserunners against a deer-in-the-headlines rookie starter and only one of those hits scored a run.
After that, the Rangers went 0-for-7 with RISP until they eighth inning when they again had a hit with RISP. That runner didn’t score either and they eventually left the bases loaded with the potential winning run at the plate. The Rangers finally did score again in the ninth. On a groundout.
All told, they went 3-for-13 for RISP and left a ghastly 12 on base for the night.
At this point, LSB might as well stand for LOB Statistic Briefing.
Player of the Game: Josh Jung had three more hits but was also the batter that ended the bases loaded threat in the eighth. Sequencing, surely, but this has to be in their heads by this point.
Nevertheless, we’ll go with Ezequiel Duran who is making the most of more regular playing time as he collected three hits including a triple, drew a walk to reach base four times, and had the only hit that scored a run for Texas tonight.
Up Next: The Rangers and Yankees will play again tomorrow with RHP Nathan Eovaldi set to make the start for Texas opposite RHP Will Warren for New York.
The Wednesday evening first pitch from Yankee Stadium is scheduled for 6:05 pm CDT and will be aired on the Rangers Sports Network. Tune in to see how many the Rangers can strand tomorrow!
