Rangers 4, Rays 3
ARLINGTON, Texas, June 1 — It was a tough one for the Texas Rangers on Wednesday as they lost to the Tampa Bay Rays by a final score of 4–3 in 11 innings. Despite key home runs from Rangers catcher Sam Huff, and first baseman Nathaniel Lowe, they just couldn’t pull off the win. The official time of the game was four hours, and one minute. That stung Rangers fans as they were still excited from their previous two wins against the Rays earlier in the week. The fourth and final game in this series is slated for Thursday afternoon at 1:05 PM Central. Veteran right-hander Corey Kluber (1–2, 4.03 ERA) will start for Tampa Bay. Meanwhile, the Rangers will counter with lefty Taylor Hearn (3–3, 5.36 ERA).
Tough One for Huff
Sam Huff has really endeared himself to the fans during his time in a Rangers uniform. He did it again on Wednesday as got the Rangers on the board in the bottom of the second inning. Huff hit his first home run of the 2022 season during the frame, and he hit it to left field off Rays starter Jeffrey Springs. It’s just one of the things that Huff has done this year that has made him a fan-favorite. This season, he is hitting .366 in 41 at-bats. He has three RBI to go along with his one home run on Wednesday night.
Granted, this is a very small sample size, but it’s his journeyman persona that has Rangers fans intrigued. He has fit in nicely with the Rangers, and the organization is looking forward to seeing what else he can do. The second run came for Texas in the bottom of the fourth inning. First baseman Nathaniel Lowe hit his fourth home run to extend the Rangers lead to 2–0. Like Huff’s round-tripper, it also came against Springs.
The Rangers’ third and final run of the night came in the bottom of the tenth inning. Charlie Culberson scored from second base on an RBI single by Adolis Garcia. This would tie the score at 3–3. It looked promising, but it wouldn’t be enough to get the win. This was a tough one for the Rangers to swallow. Just when it looked like they had the Rays figured out, that’s when things turned upside down.
Rays’ Offense
The Rays did not crack the run column until the top of the seventh inning. Randy Arozarena hit a solo home run to left field to make the score 2–1 with things still in the Rangers’ favor at that point. They got their next run an inning later. Francisco Mejia crossed the plate on an RBI single by Harold Ramirez to tie the game at 2–2. A sacrifice fly by Vidal Brujan brought home Brett Phillips in the top of the tenth inning. This gave Tampa Bay a 3–2 lead.
Their final run of the night came on a double by Ji-Man Choi that allowed Ramirez to score. Interestingly enough, earlier in the Choi at-bat, Rays manager Kevin Cash was ejected for arguing balls and strikes.
Rangers Pitching Notes
This was a tough one for Rangers starter Jon Gray as well. Gray pitched very well. He pitched seven innings, giving up one run on three hits. He walked two, and struck out 12. The 12 strikeouts were most by a Ranger since Lance Lynn on 9/22/19 against the Oakland Athletics (12). It marked the most strikeouts ever by a Ranger at Globe Life Field and tied the Los Angeles Angels‘ Dylan Bundy (12 on 9/10/20 at TEX) for the facility record overall (regular and postseason). It was the second-highest strikeout total of Gray’s career. This was the fourth time he reached the mark. It was also his longest outing as a Ranger. This was a tough one for Texas.
Main Photo:
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Players/Managers Mentioned:
Sam Huff, Nathaniel Lowe, Corey Kluber, Taylor Hearn, Jeffrey Springs, Adolis Garcia, Randy Arozarena, Francisco Mejia, Harold Ramirez, Vidal Brujan, Brett Phillips, Ji-Man Choi, Jon Gray, Lance Lynn, Dylan Bundy, Kevin Cash, Charlie Culberson
