Rangers 7, Braves 3
ARLINGTON, Texas, May 1 — It should be a very relaxing flight to Philadelphia for the Texas Rangers after their Sunday victory over the Atlanta Braves. The final score of this weekend matinee was 7–3 in favor of the home-nine. With this win, the Rangers take the three-game set from Atlanta, winning two out of three. Now they go on the road to face the Philadelphia Phillies for a short two-game series starting on Tuesday. Then they’ll head to the Bronx to take on the New York Yankees for three games.
Rangers’ Hot Bats
There weren’t any home runs in this one for the Rangers. Home runs, however, are not the only way to score in this game. The scoring started in the bottom of the first inning for Texas. Mitch Garver singled on a line drive to left field. Adolis Garcia was able to score as a result. The Rangers’ next run materialized in the second inning. Marcus Semien grounded out, allowing Andy Ibanez to cross the plate. It also got Charlie Culberson to third base, and Eli White to second base.
Moments later, Garcia reached base on a fielder’s choice. That brought in Culberson, therefore extending their lead to 3–0. In the bottom of the third inning, it was Culberson again. This time, he drove in Nick Solak with a sacrifice bunt. At this point in the game, they had a 4–2 lead over the Braves. Then their biggest opportunity of the afternoon came.
Adolis Garcia blasted a sharp line drive for a triple. This netted him three RBI for the day. Nathaniel Lowe, Culberson, and Semien were all able to come home on Garcia’s extra base hit.
Braves’ Offense
The Braves produced two of their three runs against the Rangers in the top of the third inning. Matt Olson grounded out to Culberson at third. This drove in Dansby Swanson, making the score 3–1. Next up was Austin Riley. He singled to left field bringing in Swanson. Atlanta’s third run wouldn’t come until the ninth inning. A sacrifice fly by Swanson drove in Travis Demeritte from third base.
Pitching Notes
Lefty Taylor Hearn got the start for the Rangers on Sunday. Hearn pitched five innings. He gave up two runs, both earned, on four hits. He walked three, and struck out six. Hearn walked away with the winning decision. He is now 1–2 on the year with an ERA of 6.53. Matt Moore pitched two innings for Texas. He walked one, and had three strikeouts. Next out of the bullpen was John King. He pitched one inning, and gave up one hit.
The last pitcher that the Rangers used on Sunday was Matt Bush. He allowed one earned run on one hit. He had no walks, and no strikeouts. Kyle Muller took the loss for the Braves. He is now 0–1 on the year with an elevated ERA of 23.63. There was no save recorded.
Needed Win
With Sunday’s win, the Rangers’ record now sits at 8–14. They are six games below the .500 marks, and they would like to improve on that. This is a modest two-game winning streak, and it will be interesting to see if it continues on Tuesday in the city of brotherly love for the Rangers.
Main Photo:
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Players Mentioned:
Mitch Garver, Adolis Garcia, Marcus Semien, Andy Ibanez, Charlie Culberson, Eli White, Nick Solak, Nathaniel Lowe, Matt Olson, Dansby Swanson, Austin Riley, Travis Demeritte, Taylor Hearn, Matt Moore, Matt Bush, Kyle Muller
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