Rangers 2, Nationals 0
- And the Rangers win the series!
- Not only did they win the series, but they won this game with a one hitter.
- That’s right, your intrepid squad faced 31 Washington Nationals batters, and only one of them got a base hit.
- Little did we know, when Brady House sent the ball into right field with one out in the second, that we be ruing that at bat a couple of hours later, cursing the fact that he didn’t foul that ball off instead.
- Jacob deGrom was masterful, allowing just one walk along with the House single, and striking out ten batters.
- The K’s included the 2000th strike out of his major league career. The 10 Ks in the game give him 2008 for his career, and move him from 95th on the all time strikeout list to 93rd, passing Billy Pierce and Andy Benes. Catfish Hunter, Dan Haren Orel Hershiser, Rick Reuschel and Lance Lynn are next on the list, and could all be surpassed in his next outing.
- There’s this weird gap on the strikeout list after that. Lynn and Reuschel each have 2015 career strikeouts, tying them for 88th. Madison Bumgarner is 84th, at 2070. Between them are Aaron Nola (2022), Sonny Gray (2042), and Dazzy Vance (2045). So once he passes Lynn and Reuschel, deGrom won’t be shooting up the list as ordinally rapidly as he has been this year.
- Jakob Junis, Chase Silseth and Jacob Latz handled an inning apiece to finish things out, with the only real worrisome moment coming when Junis issued back-to-back walks to Jose Tena and Brady House with one out in the seventh, at a time when the Rangers were up just 1-0. A Keibert Ruiz GIDP put an end to the threat, however.
- It is a good thing, too, that the Rangers pitchers did such a scintillating job, because the Rangers hitters were not terribly productive.
- Texas registered a whopping six hits in the game, with Corey Seager, Justin Foscue, and Ezequiel Duran each recording a pair. Duran also drew two walks in the game, so that’s fun for him.
- Seager’s home run put the Rangers on the board in the third, and he’s had multiple hits in each of his last four games. Since the beginning of June, when he returned from his first stint on the i.l. this season, he is slashing .283/.365/.522. Not bad for a guy half the fanbase seemed to want banished to parts unknown at the trade deadline.
- Fan favorite Nicky Lopez drove home the final run, in the eighth, on a sac fly after a one out Duran triple.
- I know how y’all love you some Nicky Lopez.
- Texas is back to being just a game back of Houston in the division, after the Astros lost 18-3 to the Angels.
- The Angels took two of three in Houston, and since firing all their pitching coaches, are 6-3 and have allowed just 21 runs.
- Maybe it was all Mike Maddux’s fault.
- And now the Angels are in Arlington for a three game weekend series.
- Texas is also tied with the Twins for the final Wild Card spot, a half game up on Toronto, and a full game on Cleveland.
- Playoff fever…catch it!
- Jacob deGrom touched 99.8 mph with his fastball, averaging 97.8 mph. Jakob Junis touched 94.1 mph with his fastball. Chase Silseth maxed out at 96.3 mph with his fastball. Jacob Latz’s fastball hit 95.6 mph
- Jake Burger had a 108.0 mph ground out. Wyatt Langford had a 105.0 mph ground out. Corey Seager had a 103.4 mph home run and a 100.0 mph double. Justin Foscue had a 101.1 mph single. Ezequiel Duran had a 100.4 mph triple.
- Let’s take this positive momentum into the weekend!
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