Rangers Reaction: Streaks, homer-saving catches and a near Minor miracle
Wednesday night's Mike Minor magic was another reminder of why we love baseball. The left-hander has been good this season but against the Padres he was near perfect.
Minor retired the first 19 batters before a single from Eric Hosmer with one out in the seventh broke it up. He retired 21 of the 22 batters he faced over seven innings. The 5-2 win gives the Rangers their season-best fourth consecutive series win.
Minor said the perfect game was on his mind but it didn't show on the mound.
"A little bit, yeah. Each inning kind of built up a little bit more but [I was] just trying to make pitches, it was still a close ballgame," he said. "We just mixed it pretty well. Izzy (catcher Isiah Kiner-Falefa) back there did a great job first time catching me. I didn’t really know what to expect but he did really well back there and then the defense behind me helped me out a lot."
Five thoughts from a 5-2 win over the Padres:
1. 20 for 20 —Closer Keone Kela saved his 20th game in 20 chances this season, breaking Francisco Cordero's 2004 Rangers' record for the longest stretch without a blown save to start a season. Kela's saves streak is the longest in the majors this season. Going back to 2017, Kela's 22 consecutive converted saves is third-longest in club history.
2. Double D stands for twice the defense —Delino DeShields has been making superb defensive plays all season in center field but he might have topped himself Wednesday night. DeShields stole a home run from Hunter Renfroe to end the seventh inning and preserve Minor's one-hit shutout. DeShields made two other dazzling plays in the game, including a long, running catch deep in the gap to his left.
"I got a good jump, got back to the wall, found it and then used my athleticism to take a run away," DeShields said of the catch atop the wall. "It's something I take pride in since the start of last year. I take my job seriously out there. I'm the last line of defense. I was happy we kept them off the board there."
3. 2:24 — The side benefit of Minor's fast work was the speed of the game. It was headed for record fast territory until Chris Martin and Jose Leclerc mucked it up with a less-than-sharp eighth inning. Still, Wednesday's game clocked in at two hours, 24 minutes. That's the shortest game at Globe Life Park since a 2:22 game against the Royals on July 31, 2016.
4. Don't Forget Choo — Shin-Soo Choo extended his on-base streak to 40 games with two hits and a walk. That ties the Phillies' Odubel Herrera for the longest in the majors this season. It's the fourth longest such stretch in Rangers' history. He also extended his current hit streak to 11 games, one shy of his 12-game hit streak that tops the club this season.
5. Rehab roundup — Catcher Carlos Perez will start a rehab stint with Double-A Frisco on Thursday and left-hander Martin Perez will make his second rehab start Saturday for the RoughRiders.