Rangers 3, Rays 0
ARLINGTON, Texas, May 31 — On Tuesday night, the Texas Rangers took the second game in their series against the Tampa Bay Rays by a final score of 3–0. The bats of Corey Seager and Adolis Garcia came to life in this one. They both hit solo home runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. This helped the Rangers win their second straight game against the Rays. With this victory, the Rangers have climbed to the .500 mark (24–24) for the first time this season. These two teams will play the third game of this four-game series on Wednesday night. The game is scheduled to get under way at 7:05 PM Central. The Rays will send lefty Jeffrey Springs (2–2, 1.62 ERA) to the hill. The Rangers, meanwhile, will give the starting nod to right-hander Jon Gray (1–2, 5.56 ERA).
Power Leads to Second Straight Win
Power was the key word on Tuesday. Between the two of them, Seager and Garcia drove in all three runs for Texas in front of a crowd of 16,317. Things would stay scoreless until the bottom of the fourth inning. Seager put the Rangers on top 1–0 with his 11th home run of the season. It came on the first pitch of the inning. The blast bound for center field would definitely help set the tone for the Rangers’ second straight win against Tampa Bay. A few batters later, Garcia stepped up to the dish. He immediately launched his eighth homer of the year into the seats in left field to make it 3–0 Texas.
Pitching Notes
Offense wasn’t the only thing that helped the Rangers nail down their second straight win against the Rays. There was also some great pitching on display at Globe Life Field on Tuesday. Left-hander, and American League ERA leader, Martin Perez got the start in this game. Perez put on a real clinic on Tuesday, as he has for much of this season. He pitched seven shutout innings. He only allowed three hits, and he struck out five batters.
There was, however, a scary moment in the top of the second inning. Rays shortstop Taylor Walls sent a screaming line drive right back at Perez, hitting him in the right shin. In the middle of the inning, he went back into the clubhouse, and everyone in the ballpark feared the worst, that Perez was going to have to come out of the game. Luckily, he emerged moments later to finish what he had started. He got through the next five innings without incident, and helped lead his team to the win.
ERA Leader
Needless to say, Perez got the win on Tuesday. His record for 2022 now sits at 4–2, with an AL leading 1.42 ERA. An incredible side note is that he has finished the month of May with an ERA of 0.64. That translates into six starts. It is the lowest ERA by an American League pitcher in a month (40.0+ IP) since Johan Santana (0.45) did it for the Minnesota Twins in September of 2004. That being said, Perez has certainly been a saving grace for the Rangers.
John King and Joe Barlow both pitched perfect frames to finish the game. Barlow notched his ninth save of the year on a night that featured both great hitting and great pitching. Rays starter Ryan Yarbrough got the loss. He pitched 6 2/3 innings, giving up three runs on six hits. Two of those hits were home runs. He also struck out three. He is now 0–2 in 2022, with an ERA of 4.00.
Main Photo:
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Players Mentioned:
Corey Seager, Adolis Garcia, Jeffrey Springs, Jon Gray, Martin Perez, Taylor Walls, Johan Santana, John King, Joe Barlow, Ryan Yarbrough
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