Rangers pitching staff flourished vs. Indians. This pitcher might have wowed the most
Hunter Pence is playing in his 13th season, which perhaps makes the “first time for everything” adage have a little more meaning.
The Arlington native played at Progressive Field for the first time in his career Wednesday, when he was the designated hitter in Game 1 of the Texas Rangers’ doubleheader with the Cleveland Indians.
Progressive Field was the only active ballpark he had not played at in his career.
Pence had a chance in July, but was injured an unable to play in the All-Star Game. He was a National League lifer before this season, so it’s not too hard to believe that he hadn’t played here.
Yet, he managed to play at the Metrodome, the former home of the Minnesota Twins. That’s one of four ballparks no longer in use that he played in, along with RFK Stadium (Washington), Turner Field (Atlanta) and SunLife Stadium (Miami).
How did he and the Rangers fare?
Here’s some Rangers Reaction from Wednesday.
Clase of his own
Indians first-base coach Sandy Alomar Jr. caught in the big leagues for a long time, a sliver of it with the Rangers. Who knows how many pitches he has seen in his lifetime in baseball.
He had this to say after Emmanuel Clase worked a perfect eighth inning in Game 1:
“I’ve never seen a 100-mph cutter in my life.”
But Clase threw one to All-Star Francisco Lindor and threw only one fastball slower than 97 mph. Catcher Roberto Perez was the first Indians hitter to face Clase, and nearly got a hit on a weak grounder up the middle.
“Perez came back after the inning and looked at me like, ‘What was that?’” Rangers manager Chris Woodward said. “It’s encouraging when you’re throwing 100 mph and, the thing that impresses me, is you’re throwing strikes. When he learns to locate both sides of the plate, it’s going to be really, really tough for hitters.”
The Rangers should have headed to Milwaukee for a Thursday off day and a three-game weekend series pleased with how they pitched against the Indians, save for that three-run, four-double eighth in Game 2.
Mike Minor produced his best start since June and Jose Leclerc picked up a gritty save Monday. Ariel Jurado said that his Game 1 start might have been the best of his career before Clase left his mark.
Lance Lynn was very good yet again, allowing two runs in seven innings. He has worked at least six innings in 19 consecutive starts.
Now, about that offense ...
Bats missing
The Rangers scored only two runs in 27 innings in the series and were shut out over the final 21 straight frames before a Willie Calhoun homer in the eighth inning of Game 2.
Yikes.
The good news is that they managed to win one of the three games, 1-0 Monday.
Woodward said that the Rangers had trouble getting the leadoff man on. They had trouble getting anyone on, but the few chances they had frequently came with two outs.
Even the red-hot Danny Santana was cooled off. Shin-Soo Choo didn’t get much going. No one really did, with one possible exception to follow.
In fairness, the Indians led MLB in ERA and opponents batting average in July, and that has helped them surge back into playoff contention. And they’re going to get better when/if Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco pitch again this season.
For the Rangers, they continue to have difficulties on the road, something that has plagued them for a few seasons now. They are off Thursday before the road trip continues at Milwaukee for three games and then to Toronto for three more.
Yikes.
He’s (still) got legs
A look at the American League leaders Wednesday morning showed that Elvis Andrus ranks fourth with 23 stolen bases. He’s not going to threaten his career-high of 42, but he’s back and running again after his injury-shortened 2018 season.
He stole only five last season, when the broken arm he suffered in April cost him 58 games. He managed 24 steals in 2016 despite needing surgery for a sports hernia after the season.
Andrus, though, says that his legs feel better than they have in five seasons.
That showed Monday as he raced for triple to start the fourth inning and scored the game’s only run on a shallow sacrifice fly. He has strengthened his legs, streamlined his running motion, and become smarter on the bases.
“Smarter, for sure,” said Andrus, who has stolen 20 bases in 10 of his 11 MLB seasons. “But my legs were something I really worked on hard to get my ability to move well through the year. I feel my speed is coming back, and I’m staying at my weight. I didn’t have to lose weight to feel good.”
His off-season including lots of sprinting, both short and long, and he worked with a track coach on his technique. Andrus, who turns 31 on Aug. 26, said that hasn’t run this well since he was 26.
But it’s not just the physical side. Woodward said that the Rangers give Andrus information before each series that highlights the best opportunities for him to run. Andrus used it to his advantage.
“If they’re going to give us anything, we’re going to take advantage of it,” Woodward said. “He’s got a really good feel in doing that. He’s just a very, very heady base runner. He’s fearless on the bases.”
Signing off, for now
Former Rangers outfielder David Murphy is not scheduled to work another series this season as a color analyst on Rangers TV broadcasts, but he would be open to returning to the booth next season.
His family is still his priority, though something his son recently said might give Murphy motivation to work a few more games.
When Murphy’s wife asked their son what he wanted to do for a living, he said, naturally, be a baseball player. When asked what his second choice would be, he responded, “stay-at-home dad.”
“I was like, ‘I need to get out of the house a little more often,’” Murphy said.
Murphy said that he enjoyed the work, which is more involved than the pregame and postgame work he has also done. He enjoyed coming on the road this week to Cleveland, where he played in 2014 and 2015 after seven seasons with the Rangers.
Though he’s done for the season, there could be more booth time ahead for the former fan favorite.
