Perez wins first game of season as Rangers top Yankees

The only member of the Texas Rangers rotation to either not register a win or not have the team win one of his starts in 2016 was back to the mound Wednesday night.

At no point this season has Martin Perez been terrible and at no point has he been terrific.

He’s had troubling moments, though far more effective ones. The bullpen hasn’t offered much relief behind him, though at times he’s created his own problems.

But in each of his first four starts, even in allowing five runs last week at Chicago, Perez gave his team a chance to win. Such was the case again against the New York Yankees, and for the first time in 2016 he was the winning pitcher.

Perez allowed two runs in six innings, and Elvis Andrus’ two-out RBI triple proved to the game-winning hit as the Rangers sneaked past the Yankees, 3-2.

“I feel happy I got my first win,” said Perez, who threw 86 pitches. “Let’s continue to win. This is the start for me. I think this is going to be a good year for me and my team, too. At the end of the day, it’s about winning.”

Jake Diekman provided two perfect innings of relief in the seventh and eighth, and Rougned Odor raced into the hole between first and second to make a play on a Starlin Castro grounder for the final out of the game with the tying run rounding third.

Hanser Alberto drove in a run with a grounder, and Adrian Beltre had an RBI single.

But Perez had the championship belt, given by the team to the game’s MVP, in his locker after providing the Rangers with their 16th quality start in 22 games.

His inability to pitch his team to a victory hadn’t frustrated him, though he wasn’t thrilled about it, but had made him introspective. He knew why he wasn’t as good as he thinks he could be and where improvement would help take the Rangers to the finish line.

“Like most of these guys, they know themselves better than anybody else,” said manager Jeff Banister, who spoke to Perez between starts. “They know what they want to do and what they didn’t do in any one sequence of pitches and where they get themselves in trouble.

“I think it’s a good sign. I think it’s a sign of maturity. Any time you can acknowledge where you can be better and have a real self-evaluation it’s a good thing. That means they’re right in the middle of a growth period. I think we see that in Martin. This guy has thrown the ball well.”

Perez was terrific in the first inning, striking out the side, but then he started the second with consecutive walks to Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez. Teixeira scored on a two-out single by Castro.

Up 2-1 in the fourth after the Rangers scored single runs in the second and third, Perez surrendered a two-out homer to Rodriguez. After a 1-2-3 fifth, a double play helped Perez get through a scoreless sixth.

The second-inning walks were the only ones Perez issued, and cutting down on free passes had become a must for him. He entered with 13 walks in 24 innings, with only 11 strikeouts.

The two double plays he induced boosted his season total to 11, the most in the majors. He credited the defense for his success.

“They do a great job,” Perez said. “When I need a ground ball, we make the double play when I throw the pitch where I want it in that situation.”

The double plays helped hide some blemishes, such as the second-inning walks, and keep him in the game, as a 6-4-3 did after Carlos Beltran’s leadoff single in the sixth.

In the end, Perez was good enough for the Rangers to win, as he had been all season. This time, they followed through.

“Putting a win in that category, hopefully it will settle him down,” Banister said. “We felt like we made some nice plays behind him. He battled. Not his cleanest outing, but, obviously, good enough.”

How the Rangers fared　

Hitting: The Rangers made the most of the few opportunities they had. … Ryan Rua raced home for their first run, in the second innings, as CC Sabathia threw to first base on a Hanser Alberto comebacker. … A leadoff walk to Bryan Holaday in the third turned into a run as Adrian Beltre singled with two outs. … After Rougned Odor drew a two-out walk in the sixth, Elvis Andrus tripled to right-center to break a 2-2 tie.　

Pitching: Martin Perez picked up his first win of the season, and the Rangers won for the first time in 2016 when he has started. … The left-hander allowed two runs on six hits and two walks in six innings, striking out three. All of those came in the first inning. … Perez induced two more double plays, giving him a baseball-leading 11. … Jake Diekman worked two perfect innings to set up Shawn Tolleson, who recorded his seventh save.

This story was originally published April 27, 2016 at 10:54 PM with the headline "Perez wins first game of season as Rangers top Yankees."