ARLINGTON, Texas — Come-from-behind wins by definition usually do not start off great. That’s how things played out during the homestand for the Texas Rangers, but the resiliency of a seemingly revitalized offense, and a pitching staff that bent but didn’t break, have Bruce Bochy’s crew riding a spotless record to open the month of August.
Whether it was the addition of the new pitchers or the uncanny ability of the Rangers’ star players to just keep hitting, Texas rode several rebound efforts to another series sweep and a clean homestand where they managed to put just a little bit more distance between themselves and the Houston Astros, at 2.5 games up in the AL West.
- Game 110: Miami 2, Texas 6 (W: Montgomery, 7-9, L: Luzardo, 8-6)
- Game 111: Miami 8, Texas 9 (W: Gray, 7-5, L: Weathers, 1-7, Sv: Smith, 20)
- Game 112: Miami 0, Texas 6 (W: Heaney, 9-6, L: Alcantara, 4-10)
Three up
Welcome to Texas, Pt. 2 – Jordan Montgomery’s Texas debut went similarly to Max Scherzer’s, which was ultimately a good thing for the Rangers. Despite a rough first couple of innings, Montgomery buckled down and was able to give Texas six strong innings while the offense picked him up and helped him earn the win.
Montgomery gave the Rangers 80 pitches in those six innings, striking out six and walking one while giving up six hits and just two earned runs, none after the 2nd. Admittedly battling some “new team” nerves, the 30-year-old settled into a groove by retiring 11 straight Marlins after a Jorge Soler single in the 3rd while also enjoying the support of baseball’s top offense.
The Rangers would score six, on the backs of two homers by Adolis Garcia and production from Marcus Semien and Corey Seager. Considering that the Cardinals couldn’t muster more than three runs in 62% of his starts, it proved to be a nice change of pace for the lefty.
Swingin’ stars – Corey Seager’s abrupt reinsertion into the lineup in the middle of the White Sox series was, of course, a welcome surprise, but his top-of-the-order tag team partner has woken back up again, too.
Marcus Semien, whom Seager and manager Bruce Bochy alike have said keys the league-leading offense, has been hitting like he did earlier this season. Since the All-Star break, the Rangers’ second baseman has been hitting to a .320 average after a slow month of June.
With Semien and Seager both producing, the rest of the Rangers’ offense has had a less forced and more relaxed approach to the plate, resulting in a lineup that produced 39 runs during the six games of the homestand, an average of 6.5 runs per game. Together, the Rangers’ 1-2 All-Star middle infield punch has been 10-for-31 since Seager’s return with two doubles and six home runs between them.
Long ball revival – This series against the Marlins included a home run barrage for the offense, a sight sorely missed. In the opener, Seager hit one and Adolis Garcia hit two. On Saturday, Seager, Robbie Grossman, and Josh Jung all went deep, and in the finale, it was Nathaniel Lowe, Ezequiel Duran, Semien, and Garcia with homers.
The series marked the 14th time this year that the Rangers have had a streak of three games with three or more homers. If they can do it in the opener in Oakland, that would tie a franchise record of four straight games with at least three homers.
Three down
Shaky Smith – Yes, Will Smith recorded his 20th save in Saturday’s victory, but he also allowed a two-run homer that brought the game closer than anybody would have cared for. This hiccup stemmed, as rough reliever outings often do, from a leadoff walk. Then new Marlin Jake Burger sent a hanging slider deep to left-center field to make it a more comfortable 9-6 game suddenly a one-run affair.
It was a rare miscue, only the third home run given up this season by Smith, who has been otherwise as reliable as they come in the Rangers’ bullpen.
Uncommon occurrence – In another rare miscue, Marcus Semien committed just his 7th error of the season, which led to two unearned runs in Saturday’s win. Semien’s career-high in errors as a second baseman is eight, which he committed while he was with the Toronto Blue Jays. His career-high overall was in 2015 with the Athletics, where he made 35 errors – but those were when he played shortstop.
Semien won a Gold Glove with Toronto in 2021 and has otherwise been a terrific defender again at the position this season with Texas. The Rangers are actually in the top 5 in the big leagues in fewest number of errors committed per game, but the mistake by Semien potentially cost starting pitcher Jon Gray at least another inning of work.
Thumbs down for Jung – While Seager’s presence was missed during his two IL stints, and All-Star catcher Jonah Heim’s absence is still felt in the lineup and behind the plate, Josh Jung’s Rookie of the Year campaign appears to have hit a significant bump in the road with his own hand ailment.
Jung was hurt on a 109 MPH liner to the hot corner in the finale that bounced off his glove but still resulted in a double play. While Jung was able to finish the inning, he was eventually replaced by Ezequiel Duran. Word after the game came down that Jung had fractured his thumb.
Jung has been an integral fielder and optimal five-hole hitter for Texas so this serves as a big blow for a team that was starting to hit its stride again. The injury seems especially heartbreaking for Jung himself, who has dealt with injuries throughout his professional career but seemed primed to earn Rookie of the Year honors in his first full season in the big leagues this year.
There’s no word yet on how long Jung will be out but the rest of the regular season seems to be in jeopardy for the Rangers’ third baseman. Duran smacked a homer in his pinch-hit at-bat, which may be just what he needs to break out of the slump that he’s been in since the All-Star break. Texas will now be counting on Duran to fill in for Jung just as he did for Seager back in April.
Which Rangers player do you think was the biggest key to the sweep of Miami? Share your thoughts with Matt on Twitter @FisherWritesMLB.
