Royals 8, Rangers 2
ARLINGTON, Texas, May 11 — The Kansas City Royals evened their series against the Texas Rangers on Wednesday. Kansas City third baseman Bobby Witt Jr. and second baseman Whit Merrifield both stepped up on this night. The final score was 8–2. On a night where Rangers fans were hoping to see a winning streak unfold, the Rangers just couldn’t deliver on Wednesday at Globe Life Field. The final game of the series is on Thursday with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 PM Central. Right-hander Jon Heasley (1–1, 4.91 ERA) will get the start for the Royals. The Rangers will counter with Taylor Hearn (1–2, 6.53 ERA).
Royal Pain
Things were quiet on both sides to start the game. It stayed that way until the top of the third inning. Whit Merrifield got the Royals on the board first. He hit a solo home run to left-center field. The noise from the home crowd was loud, but it wasn’t proud after they saw this. The score would remain 1–0 until the top half of the fifth inning. The Royals extended the lead to 3–0 on an RBI double hit by Bobby Witt Jr. Merrifield and Michael A. Taylor. Witt Jr. was able to advance to third base on a throwing error by Rangers shortstop Corey Seager.
The Royals scored their fourth run in the top of the seventh inning. Witt Jr. reached base on a fielder’s choice fielded by Rangers third baseman Brad Miller. This play drove in Merrifield. Then in the top of the ninth inning, Kansas City struck again to make it 7–1. Infielder Emmanuel Rivera drove in Merrifield, Nicky Lopez, and Salvador Perez with a triple.
The Royals promptly scored again to make it 8–1. Rivera scored on a throwing error by Brad Miller. It also allowed Hunter Dozier to reach base.
A Pair of Homers
The Rangers didn’t get on the board until the bottom of the sixth inning. Brad Miller hit a pinch-hit home run to center field. This made it 3–1 in favor of the Royals. With that blast, the Rangers now have three pinch-hit home runs on the season. They lead the major leagues in that category. Miller, coincidentally, has hit two of them. Willie Calhoun has the third one.
Aside from the home runs, the Texas Rangers just couldn’t get things going on Wednesday evening. Rangers Manager Chris Woodward has to be scratching his head trying to figure out how to not only put more runs on the board, but to also keep the opposition from putting runs on the board.
Rangers Pitching Notes
Righty Matt Bush acted as an opener for the Rangers in this one. He pitched one inning, and struck out one. Kolby Allard took over in the second inning. He pitched three innings in what appeared to be a bullpen game for the Rangers. He allowed one earned run on two hits. One of those hits was a home run. He also walked one, struck out one, and took the losing decision for Texas. His record is now 0–2, and he has an earned run average of 5.40.
Garrett Richards followed Allard. He only pitched one third of an inning, allowing two earned runs on two hits. He also walked one and struck out one. Brett Martin was next out of the bullpen for the Rangers. He tossed an inning and two thirds, and was perfect on the mound during those outs. Dennis Santana also pitched an inning. He allowed one unearned run, and a walk. The last one out of the pen for the Rangers was Matt Moore. He went two innings, and allowed four runs, three of which were earned, on three hits. He walked one, and struck out one.
Right-hander Joel Payamps got the winning decison for the Royals. His record for 2022 is now 1–1, and he has an ERA of 2.08. He came on in relief for Royals starter Gabe Speier. Payamps pitched three innings, allowing only two hits, and he struck out five. There was no save recorded.
Main Photo:
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Players/Managers Mentioned:
Whit Merrifield, Taylor Hearn, Bobby Witt, Michael A. Taylor, Corey Seager, Brad Miller, Emmanuel Rivera, Nicky Lopez, Salvador Perez, Hunter Dozier, Willie Calhoun, Matt Bush, Kolby Allard, Garrett Richards, Brett Martin, Dennis Santana, Matt Moore, Joel Payamps, Gabe Speier
