Thursday Newsletter time: Rotten eighth-inning luck didn't cost Rangers a win on Wednesday, but it sure didn't help.
The Yankees scored four two-out runs to snap a 3-3 tie, a rally that started with a well-place bloop double by Joey Gallo.
The good news for the Texas Rangers is they will play Thursday in Baltimore, home of the worst team in the American League.
The Orioles are even worse than the Rangers.
The Rangers could use a break in their schedule after the New York Yankees completed a three-game sweep Wednesday night with a 7-3 victory. It was the Rangers’ 97th loss of the season.
It featured what might have been their worst luck of the season.
The bad luck didn’t cost them the game, manager Chris Woodward said. Taylor Hearn, who pitched better than his line indicates, started the fifth with a leadoff walk. The Rangers had chances to build on an early 3-0 lead. The tying run scored on a wild pitch that hit off Jose Trevino’s knee and went darn near all the way to first base.
But the game was tied at 3 in the bottom of the eighth, and right-hander Spencer Patton opened the inning by mowing down Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. Joey Gallo was headed to similar fate when he sent one of his patented towering popups to left field.
However, left fielder Willie Calhoun was shaded toward center, and the ball fell in for a double. The next batter was Gleyber Torres, who flared Patton’s next pitch into right field for another double and a 4-3 Yankees lead.
Gio Urshela followed with a grounder to second that looked like it would end the inning. Yonny Hernandez, though, booted it, and Torres was just safe on a close play at home.
Gary Sanchez then lifted a two-run homer to center. Patton should have been out of the inning with no worse than a 4-3 deficit.
“He made a good pitch on Joey,” Woodward said. “The Torres ball was just flipped into right and he got a little lucky he kept it fair. The ground ball is an out. Up until that point, he did fine.”
Ultimately, Woodward said, the Rangers put themselves in that situation because of the opportunities they missed at the plate earlier and the mistakes they made on the mound.
The Rangers, even when they have good luck, have to be nearly perfect to beat a team like the Yankees. If the Rangers gave them an opening, the Yankees pushed right through it.
And so did the Chicago White Sox over the weekend and the Houston Astros prior to that. In their past 10 games, all against playoff contenders, the Rangers are 2-8. If the Rangers are going to contend for the postseason again, which is the end goal of the rebuild, they will have to learn how to play in atmospheres like they saw at Yankee Stadium.
“If we’re going to win a World Series, if we’re going to be contenders and competitive, we’ve got to be able to execute in those situations,” Woodward said.
Do it For Durrett news
If you have a few extra bucks burning a hole in your pocket, please consider give them to the Do It For Durrett Foundation, which continues to help families that have been impacted by the sudden loss of a parent.
There are two ways to help, including one right now.
North Texas Giving Day, the annual fundraiser for many local charities, is today. DIFD has set a goal of $5,000. Help us (full disclosure: I am a board member) get there by donating at this link.
Also, tickets for the Oct. 23 event at Legal Draft in Arlington are still available, but not that many are left. To secure your spot for what is always a good time, click here.
The foundation is named for former DFW sports personality Richard Durrett, who died suddenly in 2015 and left behind two children and a pregnant wife. The Durretts were the beneficiary of our first event, but all proceeds now go to families going through what they did.
ICYMI …
Maybe it’s just me, but I can’t believe it’s already Thursday. If you’re in the same boat and might not have had the time for the Texas Rangers Newsletter, we’re not insulted. We’re here to help in case you missed it.
Five under-the-radar prospects to watch.
Kohei Arihara still in Rangers’ 2022 pitching plans.
The Sunday Read: Staring at 100 losses.
Friday on the Farm: Aaron Zavala explains that “medical anomaly.”
Texas Rangers Baseball Podcast: Reviewing the minor leagues.
Don’t forget sign up for a paid subscription.
Doggy video!
Everything I’ve read about our 16th president suggests he would have loved this. Enjoy. See you Friday.
