Photo Courtesy: Dominic Ceraldi
Game 1 – Nathan Eovaldi started Opening Day for the Rangers. Jacob deGrom still remains on the shelf until August. Big Game Nate was opposed by Justin Steele of the Chicago Cubs. Eovaldi turned in a quality start. Adolis Garcia began scoring for the Rangers with a homer. Wyatt Langford got his first career hit and RBI. The game was tied 2-2 when the Rangers used Josh Sborz and Kirby Yates to hold the lead. Leclerc blew the tie after walking two. Travis Jankowski tied the game with a leadoff homer in the 9th. David Robertson held off the Cubs in the top of the 10th. Former Ranger Drew Smyly gave up a walk off single to Jonah Heim in the bottom of the 10th. Win 4-3.
Game 2 – Dansby Swanson began the scoring with a two-run homer off of Cody Bradford. Wyatt Langford hit a single in the second and Jared Walsh followed with a game-tying homer off of former Ranger Kyle Hendricks. The Rangers traded Hendricks for half a season of 5.50 ERA Ryan Dempster about a decade ago. Adolis Garcia had a two-run shot of his own in the bottom of the 3rd. Seager added another RBI in the 4th with a single to make it 5-2 Rangers. The score remained that way until the 8th, when the Rangers exploded for six runs. Cody Bradford got the win. Win 11-2.
Game 3 – Christopher Morel began scoring with a big three-run homer off of Jon Gray. In the bottom of the 2nd Marcus Semien hit a two-run single to make it 3-2 Rangers. Ian Happ answered with a two-run double. The Rangers fought back and tied the game behind extra base hits from Semien and Langford.
The bats went cold and Jose Leclerc had a meltdown inning. Loss 9-5.
The Rangers traveled to the desolate, cavernous Trop to take on the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rangers smashed the Rays at the beginning of the playoffs last season.
Game 1 – Josh Jung was the story of this game. He had four RBI and three hits before tragedy struck. Rays reliever Phil Maton hit Adolis Garcia in the wrist in the 9th inning when the Rangers were already up 7-3. As the umps did nothing Josh Jung stroll to the plate and he was hit on the wrist too. Jung’s wrist was shattered. The bright young star from Texas Tech will miss 8-10 weeks. This is a severe blow to the Rangers. Jung is an All-Star. He is a well-rounded slugger.
The beaning is a result of the Rays being a gimmick team. They tell their pitchers to throw as hard as they can without any regard for command and to snap off as many sharp breaking pitches as possible. The result is predictable: a bunch of pitchers hurting their arms and beaning guys. The Rays flashy style is nice a gimmick; but having stooges like Maton come in and put other players in danger until he blows his arm out is a joke. It is their entire ethos and signature build order to run pitching talent into the ground. This injury was a result of the intentionally short-sighted approach of the Rays coaches and front office. They do not care about their players, the opposing players, or the game. It is a tremendous victory for baseball that insipid style was not rewarded in the playoffs. Win 9-3.
Game 2 – The Rangers offense failed to show up against Zach Eflin. Andrew Heaney ran into trouble in the 5th due to sloppy defense. The Rangers trailed 5-0 from there and it was never a game. Jonah Heim had two RBI. Loss 5-2.
Game 3 – Nathan Eovaldi started for the Rangers and was crisp. He had his splitter really working, unlike the last start. He went 7 strong and struckout 8. The game was tied 1-1 going into the 9th. Josh Smith, Josh Jung’s temporary replacement, had a massive 2 RBI smack to center. Semien had an RBI single too. Leclerc got the save. Win 4-1.
The Rangers will take on the hated Houston Astros next. It is their first meeting since the ALCS.
