Rays 3, Rangers 1
ARLINGTON, Texas, June 2 — The Texas Rangers split their four-game set with the Tampa Bay Rays, losing by a final score of 3–1 on Thursday. It was Lou Gehrig Day all around Major League Baseball, and both teams wore patches on their sleeves to commemorate the occasion. On the field, however, the Rangers just couldn’t pull off the series win against the Rays. Rangers’ shortstop Marcus Semien homered in the bottom of the sixth inning, but it wasn’t enough. The best thing the Rangers can do now is to look forward to their next series, which starts on Friday against the Seattle Mariners. Right-hander Logan Gilbert (5–2, 2.29 ERA) will take the mound for Seattle. Dane Dunning ((1–3, 4.31 ERA) will get the ball for the Rangers.
Rangers Settle for Split
The Rangers only pushed one run across the plate on Thursday. It came from the bat of Semien in the bottom of the sixth inning. He hit a solo home run to left field. This shot marked the second home run of 2022 for Semien. He hit it off former Ranger Corey Kluber. The Rangers have split the series with Tampa Bay. Their record for the 2022 season is now 24–26. For a season that very much started off on the wrong foot, the Rangers have managed to turn things around. They still have a long way to go, however.
Angels’ Offense
Things started happening for the Angels in the top of the second inning. Rays’ shortstop Vidal Brujan hit a ground-rule double. This extra-base hit drove in their first run in the person of the Rays’ designated hitter Francisco Mejia. The lead would stretch to 2–0 in the top of the third inning when Yandy Diaz singled to left field. This drove in Manuel Margot. Their third run came later in the inning. A walk to Isaac Paredes allowed Harold Ramirez to score. At this point, the Rangers had yet to score their lone run of the game. So, it made the score 3–0 in favor of Tampa Bay.
Rangers Pitching Notes
Taylor Hearn started this game for the Texas Rangers. He pitched four innings. Hearn gave up three runs, all earned, on six hits. He walked four, and took the losing decision for the Rangers. His record for the year is now 3–4, with an ERA of 5.48. In Wednesday’s contest, Hearn threw less than five innings for the third time in four starts, posting a 5.79 ERA (12 ER/18 2/3 IP).
Right-hander Garrett Richards replaced Hearn in the fifth inning. He pitched two innings, and allowed a hit and a walk. Richards also had one strikeout. Brock Burke took over in the seventh inning. He threw two frames, allowed two hits and a walk. He had no strikeouts. Left-hander Brett Martin pitched the ninth inning for the Rangers. In that frame, he gave up only one walk.
Kluber got the winning decision for the Rays. He threw six innings. He gave up the Rangers’ only run on four hits. That hit was the Semien home run in the bottom of the sixth inning. Kluber now has a record of 2–2 on the season, with an ERA of 3.73. Ryan Thompson got the save for the Rays. It was his third of the season. He pitched a perfect ninth inning.
Main Photo:
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Players Mentioned:
Lou Gehrig, Marcus Semien, Dane Dunning, Corey Kluber, Vidal Brujan, Francisco Mejia, Yandy Diaz, Manuel Margot, Isaac Paredes, Harold Ramirez, Taylor Hearn, Garrett Richards, Brock Burke, Brett Martin, Ryan Thompson
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