Rangers 5, A’s 3
- After lo these many months, the Texas Rangers losing streak has come to an end.
- Well, it hasn’t actually been months. It was four days.
- But it felt like months.
- MacKenzie Gore had what one can call the MacKenzie Gore inning, allowing three runs in the second inning and putting us all in “welp its another loss” mode, particularly given it was that momentum-shifting two out, three run home run that victimized Gore.
- But it was a couple of two out flares that put the two runners on base in that second inning. And the Henry Bolte home run that made it a 3-0 game was just barely fair, and just barely gone, leaving just 3 of 30 major league parks, per Statcast, or just two if we say Sacramento isn’t a major league park.
- Gore pitched from the stretch a lot — he didn’t have a 1-2-3 inning all game, had a pair of runners on in the first and third, and gave up doubles in the fourth, fifth and sixth — but managed to keep the A’s off the board after the Bolte homer, ultimately going 5.2 innings before handing it off to Chase Silseth, who needed just one pitch to end the sixth inning.
- The return of Jakob Junis and the fact that the losing streak meant Jacob Latz hadn’t pitched in a while gave Skip Schumaker the opportunity to use the pair for the final three innings, Junis pitching the seventh and Latz the eighth and ninth.
- Latz picked up his 12th save of the season where he pitched more than one inning. That seems like a lot.
- I mean, it wouldn’t be a lot in the olden days, before Tony LaRussa ushered in the era of the one inning reliever, but in the second quarter of the 21st century it seems like a lot.
- There wouldn’t have been the opportunity for a two inning Jacob Latz save, of course, were it not for the offense doing some things.
- Offensive catalyst Nicky Lopez put the Rangers on the board initially, singling home Jake Burger in the fifth, after Burger had doubled to start the inning and went to third on an Austin Wynns sacrifice bunt.
- Putting down a sacrifice bunt with a runner on second, down three, doesn’t show a great deal of confidence in either the bunter or the batters coming up behind him, I will note.
- That simply set the stage for a crooked number in the sixth, a crooked number that came from the top of the Rangers’ lineup. A Brandon Nimmo double and a Corey Seager RBI single made it a one run game, with Wyatt Langford then turning a one run deficit into a one run lead with a home run sent deep into the left field stands.
- Langford came into the game in the midst of a 2 for 24 slump, and for the month of August was slashing .095/.283/.190. A 3 for 4 outing with a homer was something Langford much needed.
- The final run came in the ninth, when Jarred Kelenic had a pinch hit single to drive in Evan Carter, who had doubled with one out in the inning.
- That was a nice little win, what with the team coming back, Gore shaking off a three run second and giving the team innings, Junis and Latz getting the job done. Makes you feel all warm inside.
- And it put the Rangers back into Wild Card 3, and still just two games back of Houston.
- Crazy, this year’s playoff hunt.
- MacKenzie Gore touched 96.2 mph with his fastball, averaging 94.6 mph. Chase Silseth’s one pitch was an 83.4 mph sweeper. Jakob Junis hit 92.6 mph with his sinker. Jacob Latz maxed out at 95.3 mph with his fastball.
- Jake Burger had a 108.6 mph double. Brandon Nimmo had a 107.8 mph line out and a 102.1 mph groundout. Wyatt Langford had a 106.9 mph single, a 106.2 mph single, and a 105.1 mph home run. Joc Pederson had a 105.4 mph groundout. Corey Seager had a 105.0 mph single and a 101.8 mph single. Evan Carter had a 102.3 mph double.
- Let’s end the road trip on a high note and return to the cozy confines of the Shed.