Anderson Tejeda shines in debut, but his bat couldn’t keep Texas Rangers from sweep
The Texas Rangers pinned their 2020 hopes on a starting rotation that would both keep the team from enduring long losing streaks while also paving the way to lengthy winning streaks.
Three starters in particular would be where the losing stopped.
Lance Lynn has not disappointed, and Corey Kluber is injured. That leaves Mike Minor, who couldn’t stop the Rangers’ losing ways Thursday.
The left-hander, a 2019 All-Star, allowed five runs in five innings, and an unforgettable MLB debut by infielder Anderson Tejeda wasn’t enough to keep the Rangers from a 6-4 loss and a three-game sweep by the Oakland A’s.
At 3-8, the Rangers are off to their worst start since 2002. They went 1-5 on their first road trip of the season, with the only win Sunday at San Francisco. The Rangers return home Friday to face the Los Angeles Angels.
“It would have been easy to pack that game in after it was 5-0, but we kept the pressure on them,” manager Chris Woodward said. “Overall, it’s disappointing to lose, but at least we kept fighting.”
The A’s broke open a 1-0 game with four in the fourth against Minor, who is 0-3 with a 6.89 ERA after his first three starts of the season. He returned for the fifth and picked up his 1,000th career strikeout, but he left with the Rangers down 5-2.
Woodward downplayed speculation that Minor was dealing with an injury after his fastball velocity dipped noticeably from early in the game. Minor insisted that he is healthy but might be dealing with a dead arm.
“It’s been like that the last couple games. I kind of hit a wall,” he said. “I’m not concerned. I don’t like to go out there and feel like I’m not at my best. It’s just usually a spring training thing or an early-season thing. I don’t like throwing with less velocity and minimal stuff. I’m just trying to build off of it.”
Tejeda kept the Rangers from being shut out with an RBI single in the fifth for his first career hit. Todd Frazier homered in the sixth, and Tejeda launched a two-run homer in the seventh to cut the Oakland lead to 5-4.
The A’s tacked on a run in their half of the seventh, but the Rangers loaded the bases with one out in the eighth. Tejeda, though, popped out and pinch hitter Robinson Chirinos struck out to end the threat.
“My mentality was to go up there with a positive attitude and to go up there and find a pitch I could put the bat on,” said Tejeda, who in four at-bats swung at all five pitches thrown to him. “I went up there looking for certain pitches and trying to get a pitch I could hit and put a good swing on.”
Woodward said afterward that Tejeda would play Friday if Rougned Odor (oblique) needs another day to get ready, but otherwise would have to continue to earn playing time.
He left a favorable impression Thursday.
“One thing I told him was I wanted to see a live bat,” Woodward said. “I’m happy for the kid. It was a good day for him.”
This story was originally published August 6, 2020 at 5:22 PM.
