Hey, the Rangers swept a series and have an All-Star finalist. Not a bad Sunday.
There haven’t been many positive vibes coming out of Globe Life Field. The Texas Rangers have been among the worst teams in baseball but Sunday provided a few feel-good moments.
The Rangers completed their second regular-season sweep, knocking off the Kansas City Royals 4-1. Right-hander Jordan Lyles turned in his best outing, allowing one run over seven innings. Joey Gallo continued his power surge at the plate with another home run. And, just a few hours before the game, rookie outfielder Adolis Garcia was named a finalist for the American League All-Star team.
As Lyles described it, “Definitely thrilled with how this game and this series went.”
The Rangers’ only other sweep this season has been taking three straight from the Houston Astros May 21-23. But the Rangers (30-48) followed that sweep with a nine-game losing streak.
The hope is the team is in a better position to keep the momentum going forward a month later instead of reverting to their losing ways.
“I’ve told this team many times, we’re obviously young and there’s a lot of growth and development going on,” Rangers manager Chris Woodward said. “At the same time, we’re competitive. We want to win. What we went through before was important for us to get through and come out the other side.”
The Rangers looked like a team that knew how to win on Sunday, jumping out to an early lead and holding on the rest of the way. They took a 3-0 lead in the first inning on a run-scoring triple by Garcia and a two-run home run by Gallo off Royals starter Brady Singer.
The Rangers scored one more run in the sixth on an error by KC third baseman Kelvin Gutierrez. Those runs were enough for Lyles and a couple of relievers.
Lyles had his deepest outing of the season, going seven innings and allowing one run on seven hits with no walks and four strikeouts. Right-hander Spencer Patton put himself in a jam in the eighth with two on and one out, but got out of it by inducing an inning-ending double play grounder by Jorge Soler.
Ian Kennedy closed it out with a 1-2-3 ninth and is now 13 of 14 in converting save opportunities for the Rangers.
“Right from the beginning, we’re playing with the lead. It’s so much better,” Woodward said. “You can see Jordan settle in. I don’t think he gave up a hard contact until the fifth inning after that first inning. He gave us seven innings strong, only one run. When you score early like that, obviously we didn’t put a whole lot of pressure on after that, but overall it was a good, clean game.”
Outside of talking about the sweep, Woodward also served as a PR man for Garcia’s All-Star chances. Garcia, who went 2 for 4 with the RBI triple, continues to make a case with 20 home runs and 55 RBIs.
He ranks fifth in fan voting behind the Angels’ Mike Trout, Yankees’ Aaron Judge, Twins’ Byron Buxton and Astros’ Michael Brantley. MLB’s “second phase” of voting starts Monday at 11 a.m.
“I’d say just watch this kid play,” Woodward said. “He does it every night. He doesn’t let up ever. Today he gets us going with the triple, another hit after that. He’s just fun to watch on a daily basis.”
Garcia made it clear that he’d be honored to take part in the All-Star Game.
“I would love it very much,” Garcia said through a translator. “It’s something I’ve worked extremely hard for. I’d be extremely grateful.”
The Rangers are off Monday before starting a six-game road trip at Oakland on Tuesday night.
Calhoun to IL
It wasn’t all good news Sunday for the Rangers.
Willie Calhoun was officially placed on the injured list with a broken left ulna sustained during Saturday’s game. There’s no timetable for his return but he’s expected to miss extended time. Calhoun is batting .254 with five home runs and 19 RBIs this season.
The team recalled outfielder Jason Martin from Triple A Round Rock to take Calhoun’s spot on the roster.
Martin started in left field and batted ninth on Sunday, going 0 for 2.
This story was originally published June 27, 2021 at 5:34 PM.
