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Thoughts on a 5-0 Rangers loss

Jays 5, Rangers 0

Tom Pennington/Getty Images

Jays 5, Rangers 0

  • That was an uninspiring way to start a series at home, coming off of an off day.
  • Martin Perez started for Texas, pitched into the 7th, and pitched fairly well.  Jeff Banister mentioned after the game that Perez threw the ball well but needs to reduce the walks, and that pretty much sums it up.  Perez ended up going 6.1 IP, allowing 2 runs, 1 earned, on 5 hits, 3 walks and 3 Ks.  100 pitches, 60 strikes, including 16 first pitch strikes out of 27 batters.  One run scored in the sixth, when a Jose Bautista one-out single was followed by an Edwin Encarnacion grounder to shortstop that should have been a GIDP, but ended up being a fielding error on Elvis Andrus.  Perez then walked Justin Smoak to load the bases before allowing a run to come across on a Troy Tulowitzki fielder's choice.
  • The second run scored in weird fashion.  Darwin Barney singled to start the seventh, and then was bunted over to second by Josh Thole.  Sam Dyson came into the game and got Kevin Pillar to ground out to second, bringing up Josh Donaldson.  Dyson got up 0-2 on Donaldson, and then uncorked a pitch way high and inside that went past Donaldson, Bobby Wilson and the umpire, caroming away and allowing Barney to score.
  • Tom Wilhelmsen pitched the 8th, and despite having a string of successful outings of late, he looked today like the bad Wilhelmsen from early on.  After a Bautista pop out, Encarnacion, Smoak and Tulowitzki went homer-double-homer, making it a 5-0 game and prompting Jeff Banister to go get Andrew Faulkner.  Faulkner allowed a single and a walk before escaping the 8th.
  • The one positive, other than a nice game from Martin Perez, was Matt Bush making his major league debut.  Bush, called up today, came into the game in the 9th to pitch to Donaldson, Bautista and Encarnacion, and went strike out-pop out-foul out to that trio.  Bush was throwing upper 90s fastballs and hard sliders in the 89-91 mph range, and looked like a legit late inning weapon.  If Bush keeps throwing like this, the Rangers stumbled across something special.
  • We should probably not talk about the offense.  Rougned Odor reached on a bunt single to lead off the game, and was promptly picked off.  In the second, Mitch Moreland walked, and Elvis Andrus singled him to second.  After that, the only Ranger baserunner was Adrian Beltre, who singled in the fourth.  I am hard pressed to think of any hard hit balls that were caught.  It was just an awful game for the bats.
  • Anyway...let's go get 'em tomorrow.