Rangers recap: Tepesch struggles, but Tolleson looks good in spring debut

Ian Desmond made his debut in the center field and closer Shawn Tolleson made his first appearance in a game this spring as the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Texas Rangers 5-2 Thursday night at Surprise Stadium.

Pitching: Starter Nick Tepesch struggled in 2 1/3 innings against the Brewers, allowing five runs (four earned) on seven hits and two walks. All five runs came in the third inning as the first five batters reached, including a lead-off homer by Scooter Gennett. The bullpen combined to hold the Brewers scoreless on four hits the final 6 2/3 innings, including Chad Bell’s 2 2/3 and Andrew Faulkner’s two innings. Shawn Tolleson allowed one hit in an inning, his first outing of the spring, and Tony Barnette struck out two in a perfect ninth.

Hitting: Texas was held to a spring-low four hits. Both runs scored on Alex Burg’s double to right in the sixth inning. Joey Gallo replaced Adrian Beltre at third and went 1 for 1 with a single and hit-by-pitch. James Jones led off the first with a single but was quickly thrown out trying to steal second.

Notable: Ian Desmond, playing center field for the first time, overran a ball in the gap for an error in the third inning ... In the sixth, Desmond made a long, running catch in the left-center gap ... Ryan Cordell injured his right ankle trying to beat out an infield hit in the seventh inning, aggravating a previous injury.

This story was originally published March 17, 2016 at 11:14 PM with the headline "Rangers recap: Tepesch struggles, but Tolleson looks good in spring debut."