Rangers 7, Tigers 6
ARLINGTON, Texas, Aug 26 — The Texas Rangers put together a rare three-homer night on Friday, as they beat the Detroit Tigers by a final score of 7–6. Those home runs came off the bats of Nathaniel Lowe, Ezequiel Duran, and Mark Mathias. The Tigers put up a bit of a fight in the late innings, but the Rangers managed to hang on to win at Globe Life Field in front of a crowd of 20,357 fans. The second game of this three-game series is set for Saturday evening at 6:05 PM Central. It will be a matchup of lefties in that game. The Tigers will give the starting nod to Eduardo Rodriguez (2–3, 3.89 ERA). The Rangers, meanwhile, will send Dallas Keuchel (2–7, 8.53 ERA) to the hill. Keuchel was added to the taxi squad on Friday by the Rangers.
Three Homer Night
The Rangers put together a three-homer night on Friday. It all started in the bottom of the first inning. Rangers first baseman Nathaniel Lowe blasted a solo shot over the wall in centerfield. It was Lowe’s 21st home run of the year, and it traveled 449 ft. The Rangers added to their home run total in the bottom of the second inning. This one came off the bat of third baseman Ezequiel Duran. This one also went to centerfield, and it also drove in Leody Taveras and Mark Mathias to make it 4–0 Rangers.
The three-homer night stalled for a few minutes, as the Rangers went back to playing small ball. In the bottom of the third inning, a single by Taveras drove in outfielder Adolis Garcia to stretch the Rangers’ lead to 5–2. Moments later, Mark Mathias hit a two-run home run to break it open 7–2. The shot went to right field, and drove in Taveras in the process. That would put a cap on the Rangers’ three-homer night, and it would be all the offense that they would need to seal the win over the Tigers.
Tigers’ Offense
The Tigers pushed across six runs on Friday evening. In contrast to the Rangers’ three-homer night, they only had one home run to their credit in this one. They got their first run in the top of the third inning. A single to left field by Riley Greene was just enough to drive in Jeimer Candelario. They were behind 4–1 at this point in the game. Moments later, Greene was driven in on another single. This one came off the bat of first baseman Harold Castro. In the top of the fifth inning, it was Greene yet again who would provide the offense.
This time, he hit a two-run triple to centerfield to cut the Rangers’ lead to 7–4. The Riley Greene show continued in the top of the ninth inning. Greene hit a two-run home run to cut the Rangers’ to one run. The two-run shot was the fifth of the season for Greene. He came a double shy of the cycle on Friday. For a brief moment it looked as if the Tigers would come all the way back, but the Rangers’ three homer night held up, and they were able to shut the door on the Tigers.
Pitching Notes
Right-hander Glenn Otto started the series opener for the Rangers. Otto earned his sixth win of the season. That ties him for third most among Rangers (10-Pérez, 7-Gray), despite allowing four earned runs over five innings. He threw just over half (48 of 80) of his pitches for strikes, but issued just two walks after combining for 13 walks over his previous three starts. Otto recorded the 100th strikeout of his career in the first inning when he struck out Javier Baez.
Through five starts this month, Otto has gone 2–1 with a 2.93 ERA (9 ER/27.2 IP), and .178 opp. BA (18-for-101). Jose Leclerc earned his second save of the season. Despite struggling in the ninth, he was able to close the door. He allowed two earned runs on two hits. One of those hits was the home run to Greene. He walked one, and struck out three.
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
Players Mentioned:
Nathaniel Lowe, Ezequiel Duran, Mark Mathias, Eduardo Rodriguez, Dallas Keuchel, Leody Taveras, Adolis Garcia, Riley Greene, Jeimer Candelario, Glenn Otto, Javier Baez, Jose Leclerc, Harold Castro,
