Another grand slam, this time in the first inning, sends Texas Rangers to a 6-4 loss
Wil Myers connected for a first-inning grand slam Tuesday off struggling left-hander Mike Minor, who also allowed a two-run homer to former teammate Jurickson Profar as the San Diego Padres held off the Texas Rangers 6-4.
The Rangers have lost three straight since their record peaked at 10-9 on Saturday. They have surrendered 30 runs in the past three losses, 19 of them yielded by starting pitchers.
Minor lasted only 3 2/3 innings and surrendered nine hits and a walk in his worst start of a troubling season for him. The Rangers have won only one of his five starts, and he is 0-4 with a 6.94 ERA.
The outing was a third straight stinker from the rotation, which will turn to right-handers Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson the next two nights as the Rangers and Padres head to Petco Park in San Diego.
“I almost got out of it, then hung a changeup for the home run,” Minor said said. “I’ve got to be better. I can’t sit here and pout. I’ve just got to go to work every day.”
The news of the day was the reaction to Rangers manager Chris Woodward saying Fernando Tatis Jr. violated baseball’s unwritten rules by swing at a 3-0 pitch Monday night with the Padres leading by seven in the eighth inning.
Tatis hit a grand slam. The next pitch was behind Manny Machado, which led to a one-game suspension for Woodward and a three-game ban for right-hander Ian Gibaut.
The Rangers trailed 6-0 Tuesday before scoring four runs in the fourth inning, three on Joey Gallo’s sixth home run of the season. However, that was the only inning in which the Rangers had a hit until the ninth.
Their best chance to close the gap came in the sixth, when three walks loaded the bases with two outs. Pinch hitter Jose Trevino, though, flied harmlessly to right-center field to end the threat.
The Rangers had one more crack at it in the ninth, when Todd Frazier batted with two outs as the potential winning run. The veteran, though, flied to center field to end it.
