The big guns go long in Texas victory
The Texas Rangers scored six runs while the Athletics scored two runs.
If the Rangers were aiming to win games in 2025, getting production from Adolis Garcia, Marcus Semien, and Corey Seager was a must. That didn’t always happen throughout the first half but each of the big three has had their moments of carrying the offense as the year has gone on.
Garcia is still lagging a little behind the keystone guys but he did bring is OPS above .700 in both June and July after that mark was sagged in the .500s in May. Tonight, El Bombi’s fourth inning solo home run tied the game.
Semien had a woeful start but was one of the first breakout bats as Texas slowly started climbing out of their spring funk. In June, Semien sported an OPS of .932, befitting of the perennial MVP-caliber player that we’d grown accustomed to.
Tonight, Semien’s solo pole-knocker in the sixth put Texas ahead and gave the Rangers a lead with Jacob deGrom still in the game to allow deGrom to be the pitcher of record.
Seager is a guy no one should really worry about when it comes to hitting. If he’s able to take the field, he rakes. After a slower start than expected, perhaps due to various ailments, Seager is now all the way up to an OPS of .857 on the year as he retains his claim on being the club’s best player.
Tonight, following a big two-out seventh inning rally which featured a Josh Smith single to provide some insurance, Seager cashed out the policy with a three-run shot into the Texas bullpen to give the Rangers a comfortable 6-1 lead in an eventual 6-2 win.
As the big three goes, so goes the Rangers. Tonight, they went deep.
Player of the Game: If the lineup has the big three, the guy on the mound tonight has perhaps an even bigger presence. Larger than life deGrom allowed a lead off home run to Lawrence Butler on a two-strike pitch and that seemed to tick him off as he the didn’t allow another A’s hit until the top of the fifth.
All told, deGrom finished his night with six innings of one run ball with just three hits allowed and one walk. The Texas ace struck out nine on an economic 86 pitches. For his effort, deGrom picked up his tenth win of the season.
Up Next: The Rangers go for a sweep as they close out this series with the A’s with a pitcher to be named opposite LHP JP Sears for the formerly Oaklands.
The Wednesday evening first pitch from The Shed is scheduled for 7:05 pm CT and will be shown on the Rangers Sports Network.