ARLINGTON, Texas — The Texas Rangers came out of the gate strong as the second half ushered the AL West leaders into the pennant chase. Taking on the Cleveland Guardians, who led the AL Central at the start of the series, Texas needed a strong showing with the Houston Astros breathing down their neck in the division.
Thanks to some key performances by some All-Star performers, and a little switch in bullpen roles, the Rangers took their first series victory since June 19-21 against the White Sox and enjoyed their first series sweep since taking all three from the Mariners at the start of June.
- Game 92: Cleveland 4, Texas 12 (W: Burke, 3-2, L: Hentges, 1-1)
- Game 93: Cleveland 0, Texas 2 (W: Heaney, 6-6, L: Williams, 1-2, Sv: Chapman, 3)
- Game 94: Cleveland 5, Texas 6 (W: Bradford, 2-1, L: Stephan, 4-4, Sv: Smith, 16)
Three Up
The bats strike back – It’s no secret that the struggles of the offense over the last few weeks are a large reason for why the Rangers found themselves only up two games on Houston instead of more. From a turning point game in which Texas was shut out by the Cardinals on June 7, through the last game before the break on July 9, the Rangers went 12-18, largely due to issues getting key hits with runners in scoring position.
In the opener on Friday, Texas was able to take full advantage of its opportunities against the Cleveland bullpen – ranked best in MLB by ERA. The Rangers went 12-for-24 with runners in scoring position over the weekend.
In the bottom of the 8th of the opener, Jonah Heim, Adolis Garcia, and Corey Seager all hit homers and helped the Rangers produce 12 unanswered runs. In the finale, Texas did something that they hadn’t accomplished all year – they completed a comeback when trailing after seven innings. In the bottom of the 8th, after Cleveland had added to their 3-2 advantage with two runs in the top of the inning, the middle of the Rangers’ order – Nathaniel Lowe, Garcia, and Josh Jung – each converted opportunities with runners in scoring position in a four-run inning that helped Texas take a lead that stood up to complete the sweep.
Heaney rebounds – The southpaw didn’t quite make it through six innings in his start on Saturday, but Andrew Heaney hasn’t had one of those in a month and a half. It was, however, a scoreless outing on the one day this weekend that the Rangers didn’t score many runs. There was a lot of pressure on Heaney, and he was equal to the task.
Heaney went 5 ⅓ innings, scattering six hits and walking just one to earn the win. Jared Sandler noted on the radio call that manager Bruce Bochy and pitching Mike Maddux had identified the 85-pitch mark as a point where Heaney’s effectiveness started waning. He had thrown 87 pitches at the time that he was pulled, after surrendering a double and a walk. If 85 pitches is the mark for Heaney, and he hasn’t allowed a run at that time, the Rangers will take that every day.
Co-closers – In Saturday’s close 2-0 contest, Rangers observers and broadcasters were surprised to see usual closer Will Smith come out in the top of the 7th and continue to pitch into the 8th. Smith earned his 5th hold of the year by erasing a 2-on, 1-out situation in the 7th and then completed a 1-2-3 top of the 8th.
Trade acquisition Aroldis Chapman earned the call for the 9th while throwing some serious gas to earn his first save as a Ranger and third on the season overall. It was revealed after the game that both Smith and Chapman will handle closing situations as Bochy sees fit. The next day, after Texas took the lead in the 8th, it was the lefty Smith who came in to close out the game.
Three Down
Off-balance – As good as the Rangers’ offense was in the first game, it was largely absent in the second game. Cleveland rookie starter Gavin Williams had small hiccups in the 1st and 2nd innings, but otherwise held the Texas offense quiet.
The two runs Williams did allow happened on outs, with Garcia plating Marcus Semien on a fielder’s choice in the 1st and Semien driving in the other run on a sac fly. For the afternoon, the Rangers only mustered five hits and four of them came in the first two innings.
Perez problems – It’s hard to find fault in a sweep of another playoff contender, but there are always areas of opportunity, and Martin Perez continues to find himself in troublesome situations. Given the ball in the finale, Perez did not have a completely clean frame over his five innings of work. The only inning in which Perez faced the minimum was in the top of the 5th, and even then, he allowed a single to Josh Naylor, which he then erased with a double play ball.
Perez also had four walks on the afternoon and pushed through 86 pitches to complete those five innings, allowing three runs total. It’s been a struggle of late for Perez and the Rangers are surely happy to have come away with the win when the lefty wasn’t yet back at his best.
Sborz goes down – It had become quite clear that something was off with Josh Sborz, as suddenly went from being one of the more reliable arms in the Texas bullpen to suffering through three very bad outings in July.
In those three outings, Sborz pitched just a total of 2 ⅓ innings and allowed three runs in each, including four walks and two home runs given up. In the month of June, Sborz only gave up two walks and one homer all month. The team announced that Sborz was suffering from right biceps tendinitis, which Bochy said the righty would need the entire stint to recover from.
Even with Chapman in the fold, the bullpen continues to be an area of interest ahead of the trade deadline for Texas and, with Sborz out, that need has grown.
Ultimately, there was a lot to like about this series for Texas. The signs of productive life with runners in scoring position, along with the team’s late-inning rallies, were a great way to kick off the second half.
Do you think the Rangers are over their July malaise? Share your thoughts with Matt on Twitter @FisherWritesMLB.
