Texas Rangers offense’s big eighth inning overshadowed a key absence in the ninth
A whole new experience awaits the Texas Rangers this weekend, as they hit the road for the first time this season under the strict safety protocols put in place by MLB.
The good news is they can stay in one hotel for all six games, three at San Francisco and three more across the bay at Oakland.
The not-so-good news is they can’t go anywhere outside the hotel, except for essential items. A cocktail at one of the many bars in San Francisco does not qualify as an essential item.
At least not under the MLB safety protocols.
But the Rangers will head west feeling pretty good about their offense. Their closer, though, wasn’t feeling too swift Wednesday.
Here’s some Rangers Reaction from a 7-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Concern for Leclerc
The last Rangers pitcher prior to Wednesday to be shut down because of shoulder tightness was Corey Kluber, and there’s a very good chance he doesn’t pitch again this season.
Jose Leclerc stopped warming up before the ninth inning Wednesday, also because of shoulder tightness. Fellow right-hander Nick Goody came in for the ninth and worked a quick 1-2-3 inning for the first save of his career.
“We are going to evaluate him today and tomorrow to see what exactly is going on,” manager Chris Woodward said. “At no point were we going to risk that putting him in the game if there is a little bit of tightness. We wanted to avoid a lengthy injury.”
Leclerc likely has an MRI tube in his future. If he didn’t get an MRI exam after the game Wednesday, he’ll get one Thursday morning before the team heads to the Bay Area in the afternoon.
Maybe it’s nothing. Maybe it’s something not as severe as Kluber’s Grade 2 strain of the teres major muscle in the back of the shoulder, but will require some time down.
Another reliever might have to step into the closer’s role.
As well as Goody pitched, the Rangers might be more inclined to go with the elite stuff Jonathan Hernandez has. Woodward, though, said last week that he wasn’t sure he wanted to put that level of responsibility on a rookie.
Edinson Volquez isn’t a rookie, and he has pitched well in relief. It wouldn’t be a shock to see him in the ninth inning with a lead, if Leclerc isn’t available.
This is a potentially significant development that was overshadowed by the Rangers’ eighth-inning rally.
Walking to victory
The five-run eighth-inning rally that propelled the Rangers to their second victory of the season started with a walk ahead of Joey Gallo’s game-tying two-run homer, and the inning was extended to the top of the order by a walk ahead of Elvis Andrus’ go-ahead two-out two-run single.
Take a bow, Rougned Odor and Jose Trevino.
Odor started the rally against Andrew Chaffin in a left-on-left matchup. Odor taking a walk against a left-hander isn’t all that rare, it turns out. It only seems that way.
Gallo beat Chaffin with an opposite-field homer, another left-vs.-left matchup.
The inning was still alive when Trevino, batting ninth, came to the plate with two outs against right-hander Hector Rondon. Trevino posted a sub.-300 on-base percentage in the minors, so walking him has been a difficult thing for pitchers to do.
Yet, the catcher watched strike one before watching the next four pitches miss the strike zone. Andrus followed with a single to break the tie.
The hit marked the third two-strike hit of the inning, and an ability to hit with two strikes (not to mention two outs) is what makes an offense great.
But the big inning doesn’t happen without the patience of Odor and Trevino.
Lynn’s escape act
Carson Kelly and Jon Jay were the first two hitters of the Arizona third against Lance Lynn. All of them got their starts in the St. Louis Cardinals organization and know each other well.
Lynn walked Kelly, and Jay followed with a single to put runners at first and third with no outs. Arizona didn’t score, though, as Lynn navigated his way through the next four hitters.
Nick Ahmed flied out to shallow right, leadoff man Ketel Marte walked, Kole Calhoun struck out and Eduardo Escobar flied to left field, where Adolis Garcia had been positioned by outfield coach Tony Beasley.
If the Lynn doesn’t escape there, the Rangers might be 1-4 instead of 2-3.
Here’s how he explained the scenario after tossing six one-hit innings with two walks and eight strikeouts.
“I wasn’t happy with the walk to Carson, one being I knew him from our St. Louis days and it pissed me right off and you can’t lead off walk,” Lynn said. “And the next guy came up, and we’ve had quite a history ourselves with the Cardinals days, and he rips a [single] and also pissed me off.
“I was able to make some pitches. I got the fly ball out, and then I wasn’t going to let Marte beat me. For him to walk, so be it, especially when you’ve got a guy that was that close to winning a batting title last year. You don’t want to let him beat you.
“And you’re able to strike the next guy out and good defensive alignment with Beas there and you can’t just flip one into left field to get a knock. It worked out well. I would rather have not loaded up the bases and all of that, but it worked out and we were able to get out of it.”
Lynn has been a regular on the Rangers Zoom channel for media interviews during the coronavirus pandemic. After a few, uh, tense group interviews in the clubhouse after starts last year, Lynn has been terrific.
He’s been around a long time and has insights into the game that younger players don’t. He’s also liable to crack a joke or just say something funny.
All three players in the postgame Zoom room were affable. Gallo and Todd Frazier kept it light, as they are also known to do.
Of course, winning helps shape the tone of any postgame interview.
