Rangers 1, Reds 0
Rangers 1, Reds 0
- Second verse, same as the first.
- Well, not exactly the same. It was another 1-0 win for the Rangers, the first time in team history that they’ve had back-to-back 1-0 wins. The starting pitcher was again excellent and efficient, though this time he didn’t pitch all nine innings. The Rangers again retired Elly de la Cruz to end the game. The offense again reeked of cat food and ass, though still managed to somehow defy the odds and get a run across.
- Let’s talk about Jack Leiter for a moment.
- At some point during the previous three seasons, you wrote him off as a lost cause. A bust. Another example of the failure of the Texas Rangers’ player development system. And I see you shaking your head right now, saying no, no, not me, I never gave up on Jack Leiter! I always believed!
- But that’s bullshit. You gave up on him, threw in the towel, wanted him traded just so the Rangers could get something of value for him and so you wouldn’t have to be reminded of how Texas wasted the #2 overall pick on him. Say what you will about Dillon Tate, at least he didn’t go until #4 overall.
- I know you’re making excuses, saying that maybe you said some things rashly, in a fit of anger, but you really didn’t mean them, that you always were a Leiter believer. A beLeiter, if you will. But we both know better than that. I can see right through you and your overblown denials, as you doth protest too much. And, deep down, you know the truth as well. When you are alone, in the dark, when you wake up at 2 a.m. and the night is still and everything is silent, when it is just you staring into the abyss that is your soul, you will acknowledge the truth. You may not say it out loud, may not truly admit it to yourself…but you will know.
- Anyway, Jack Leiter was outstanding today. Five innings, 70 pitches, his outing cut short for precautionary reasons due to a blister. Leiter retired 15 of 16 batters he faced, allowing just one hit, a double to Elly de la Cruz, and struck out six. He generated 11 swings and misses on 70 pitches, seven of them on his slider.
- One of the things we saw repeatedly with Leiter last year was that his fastball command was spotty, and he too frequently either missed out of the zone badly, or would leave the ball up in the zone where it could be crushed. Leiter starts saw a ton of loud contact last year on his fastball. That wasn’t the case today. Leiter didn’t actually throw his fastball a ton — only 15 times — but when he did, he was more often than not able to locate it on the edges of the strike zone.
- Leiter used his slider as his primary pitch today, throwing it 31 times, and was able to both throw it over the plate for strikes and spot it outside of the zone while generating swings and misses.
- Here’s his pitch plot from today, from Statcast:
- And when hitters made contact with either the fastball or the slider, they didn’t make quality contact — out of six sliders put in play, the average EV was 81.9 mph, with a max of 91.2 mph, and the three fastballs that were put in play had a maximum EV of 81.9 mph.
- The one hard hit ball he gave up, the de la Cruz double, came on a changeup, the only change Leiter threw that a Cincy player swung at today. It was 106.7 mph, which, you know, is pretty loud contact. For all the talk of the new spike change he added this year, it seems to very much be still a work in progress.
- Okay, this is two starts for Leiter, and to paraphrase Winston Wolf, we don’t need to start enjoying each other’s hot dogs just yet. But these two starts, on the heels of a spring that saw him get a lot of recognition from outsiders for how much improvement he was showing from prior years, really gives you reason to feel excited about him right now.
- The fully rested pen got to handle the final four innings, with Jacob Webb, Robert Garcia, Chris Martin and Luke Jackson each throwing a shutout inning. Garcia had probably his best outing as a Ranger, with a pair of Ks and a weakly hit grounder. Martin gave up a two out single to Jake Fraley, but then picked Fraley off for the final out and the first caught stealing for the Rangers this year (even if the catchers still haven’t thrown anyone out). Jackson allowed a one out single, but fanned Matt McLain looking and then retired de la Cruz on a ground out to end the game.
- The one run scored when Joc Pederson singled to start the fourth, and Josh Smith doubled him home with two outs. Smith also had a great play on a pop up in shallow left-center.
- The only other hit besides those two was a Marcus Semien single. Semien and Wyatt Langford each walked. That was it for the bats.
- Once again, I’m feeling too good about the pitching performance and the win in general to dwell on the puissant putridity of the hitters today. But they are on notice.
- Jack Leiter hit 99.1 mph with his fastball, averaging 98.0 mph. Jacob Webb reached 92.8 mph with his fastball. Robert Garcia maxed out at 94.5 mph with his fastball. Chris Martin topped out at 93.7 mph. Luke Jackson hit 96.6 mph with his fastball.
- Jake Burger had a 103.0 mph ground out. Leody Taveras had a 101.9 mph line out. Josh Smith’s double was 101.0 mph. Wyatt Langford had a 100.0 mph fly out.
- Texas is now in sole possession of first place in the American League West, and has an off day on Thursday. Let’s enjoy the next 48 hours.