DALLAS — Against an unorthodox San Francisco Giants team, one which has relied on platoon advantages and bullpen games over the past several weeks to get them through, the Rangers were able to take their fourth consecutive series and hold steady at 2.5 games over the Houston Astros in the American League West.
Overall, Texas took two consecutive series on their Bay Area swing but the real likelihood to sweep both, only to come up short each time, soured some of the good vibes. In the end, the Rangers were forced to settle for a 4-2 week by the Bay, good for their first winning road trip since May, but one that felt like some wins were left out on the field.
Game 116: Texas 2, San Francisco 1 (W: Gray, 8-5, L: Stripling, 0-5, Sv: Smith, 22)
Game 117: Texas 9, San Francisco 3 (W: Anderson, 2-1, L: Cobb, 6-4)
Game 118: Texas 2, San Francisco 3 (W: Doval, 4-3, L: Smith, 1-4)
Three Up
Gray as good as gold – Jordan Montgomery gave up two runs in the series finale against Oakland and the Rangers still lost. What the Rangers needed, therefore, was a starter to give up fewer than two runs. Jon Gray answered that challenge in the opener against the Giants.
The righty Gray, who hadn’t looked like himself in the last few outings, had a game reminiscent of his performances from back in May. Sporting a slider with some sharp, late movement that he could command very well, Gray threw seven shutout innings, striking out seven and walking nobody.
The last time Gray walked zero batters was during his complete game loss against St. Louis back in June. As Gray would say later, after the game, this should be a good outing to build from for the rest of the season.
JP jumpstart – With unexpectedly dynamic outfielder Travis Jankowski hitting the paternity list, the Rangers needed another outfield bat. That spot could have gone to Bubba Thompson, but Texas elected to DFA the speedy outfielder to make room on the roster for J.P. Martinez, the 27-year old out of Cuba.
Martinez has been having a career year in the minor leagues offensively, slashing .311/.435/.558 with 12 homers and 56 RBI. Martinez was in the starting lineup for his Major League debut in the series opener, going 0-for-3 but drawing a walk. He notched his first big league hit one game later while also collecting his first career RBI. On Sunday, Martinez doubled and then scored the tying run with some heads up baserunning in a 1-0 game in the 9th.
Dunning stuns – The award for Mr. Consistency on the pitching staff is probably going to Dane Dunning. Yes, there was a little stretch there toward the end of June where Dunning hit a rough patch, but the righty has only had one real meltdown start this season, and that was against a red hot Los Angeles Dodgers lineup back in July.
Sunday’s performance was anything but disastrous. Over seven innings, Dunning allowed just one home run, scattered seven hits and struck out a career-high 12. Dunning hasn’t really ever been a strikeout pitcher, striking out just over 20% of batters faced in his career, but on Sunday, Dunning K’d 43% of the batters he faced.
The Rangers’ offense didn’t do him many favors on this day, but that shouldn’t distract from the performance that Dane Dunning delivered.
Three Down
Playoff atmosphere – Whether it was a sudden sense of urgency or having flashbacks to his World Series runs as steward of the Giants, manager Bruce Bochy made an unusual move in the second game of the series. Starter Andrew Heaney’s control was definitely not good. After losing the early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning and throwing 19 pitches, the lefty couldn’t get out of the second inning after 21 pitches, as Bochy pulled him after he loaded the bases with one out.
It was up to Grant Anderson to get out of the jam, which he did with a double play grounder. The outcome was exactly what the Rangers needed, but there’s no doubt that nobody wanted to see Heaney pulled from the game after 1 ⅓ innings pitched to force extra work on the bullpen.
Getaway game blues – As before, with the series in Oakland, Texas was able to secure a series win by picking up victories in the first two contests, but failed to complete the sweep.
While no one is going to complain about winning each series, especially on the road, the two winnable finales amount to missed opportunities. With the Astros also losing on Sunday, Texas could have picked up another game in the standings. Instead, Texas fell 3-2 in extras, with Giants’ starter Logan Webb up to the task of opposing Dunning in a pitchers’ duel.
Webb went 8 ⅔ innings to shut down the Rangers on just six hits with his 107 pitches. The run on his ledger was an inherited one surrendered by the game’s eventual winner, Camilo Doval. Texas got the lead due to a balk in the 10th inning off Doval, but the ghost runner came to strike late, as closer Will Smith gave up a line drive, two-run home run to Patrick Bailey in a one run game.
Will Smith waning – After a very solid year, it’s easy to think that Smith is fairly automatic, but in August, he hasn’t been. In six appearances this month, Smith has given up five runs, matching the most he’s allowed on the year. That was in May, and was also across nine appearances.
In August, Smith has given up runs in three of the six games in which he’s appeared. Against the Giants, Smith gave up runs in back-to-back appearances for the first time. While the ghost runner made the home run a game-winner instead of a game-tying shot, Smith still logged a blown save, his third of the year and moved to 1-4 on the season.
The veteran Smith obviously has some skins on the wall and some equity built up, but as the games get more contentious down the stretch, Bochy and the Rangers can ill-afford to trot out a closer who suddenly finds himself home run prone.
Do you think the Rangers will be able to build off their first winning road trip since May? Share your thoughts with Matt on Twitter @FisherWritesMLB.
