Rangers 7, Blue Jays 4
- And that’s a series win.
- This win was much like the first two wins in the series. Texas got up early by a good amount then held on to win despite some bullpen shenanigans.
- Cal Quantrill, pressed into rotational duty due to Jack Leiter going on the injured list, gave the Rangers four shutout innings. Cal Quantrill, of all people!
- Robby Ahlstrom and Joe Ross then tried to make Quantrill’s work for naught, though they were unsuccessful in that regard.
- Ahlstrom was asked to pitch two days in a row, and in neither of the two days did he have success, retiring just one of three batters in the previous game and just one of four batters in this game. He was replaced by Joe Ross, who fared a little better, retiring four of eight batters faced.
- Two runs got put on Ahlstrom’s ledger and two on Ross’s ledger before Peyton Gray rode to the rescue.
- Gray had to give up a single first, to worry us, then retired the next seven batters he faced. That ended up being good enough to get credit for the win in the game, with Tyler Alexander recording the save.
- I would prefer it if the Rangers would not give up a bunch of runs in the middle or late innings to turn a big lead into a smaller lead. However, the fact that the offense is scoring enough runs that the team is still winning makes it something that is not as angst-producing as it might otherwise be.
- After putting up a singleton in the first, Texas had a big five run inning in the fifth, then capped off the scoring with a Corey Seager homer in the sixth.
- It was Seager’s first hit since coming off the concussion injured list. He had a Three True Outcomes game, walking once and striking out in his other three plate appearances.
- Wyatt Langford was a late scratch because of hamstring tightness, with Skip Schumaker opting not to risk making the hamstring issue worse with Langford having already missed a good chunk of the season due to injury. It turned out he wasn’t needed.
- Jake Burger had three hits. Alejandro Osuna, facing a likely trip back to Round Rock next week when Evan Carter returns, had a couple of hits.
- I am happy to report to you that the Mariners lost, so the Rangers are just a half game back of Seattle in the American League West.
- Unfortunately, the Rangers are also a game under .500 now, and being a game under .500 has almost always meant a loss as of late.
- But surely that won’t continue, right? Right?
- The Rangers are also in sole possession of WC3 as a result of this win.
- Cal Quantrill hit 96.1 mph with his fastball. Robby Ahlstrom touched 94.6 mph with his sinker. Joe Ross maxed out at 96.7 mph with his fastball. Peyton Gray’s fastball topped out at 94.4 mph. Tyler Alexander’s fastball hit 93.1 mph.
- Jake Burger had a 107.7 mph single. Brandon Nimmo had a 104.3 mph fly out. Joc Pederson had a 100.9 mph fly out. Ezequiel Duran had a 100.7 mph single.
- Six down, four to go.
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