Thoughts on an 8-5 win

Rangers 8, Blue Jays 5

• Losing streak is over. Yay!
• Weird outing for Lance Lynn today...he didn’t have great command today, but also had some runs on his ledger due to defensive issues behind him.
• Lynn started the first with two quick outs, then walked the next two batters. He got Vlad Guerrero Jr. to ground the ball to third base, but Asdrubal Cabrera simply missed fielding a ball to his left, making what should have been an inning-ending out an RBI single.
• In the top of the 4th, having just been given an 8-2 lead, Lynn had a weird inning. Billy McKinney led off with a bunt single down the third base line against the shift, then advanced to second on a ground out. Socrates Brito then hit a routine grounder to first base that Logan Forsythe fielded, but then froze on, rather going to first base, resulting in an infield single, putting runners at first and third. Eric Sogard then hit a line drive to the right field side of center, and Joey Gallo, who was shading him towards left center, took a bad angle, dove unsuccessfully, and turned a single into a triple. Sogard then scored on a sac fly, making it 8-5, though neither team scored after that.
• Lynn’s final line was 6 IP, 8 hits, 5 walks, 3 Ks, and 5 runs allowed.
• Jose Leclerc pitched the 7th, and after giving up a rocket to Justin Smoak (102.8 mph per Statcast) to lead off the inning that Forsythe made a nice play on, he fanned the next two batters, looking more like the Leclerc of last year. He still has work to do, but he looked better, and came off the mound looking quite relieved.
• Chris Martin pitched a scoreless 8th, and Shawn Kelley a scoreless 9th, allowing us to have a relaxing last couple of innings.
• Offensively, Nomar Mazara tied the game at 1 with a monster solo shot in the first, measured at 444 feet. The Rangers put 4 more on the board in the second, when Joey Gallo, Asdrubal Cabrera and Logan Forsythe all walked, and were all brought home on an Isiah Kiner-Falefa triple to right center. IKF then scored on an Elvis Andrus single.
• The final 3 runs scored in the third. Hunter Pence reached on a single, and then Joey Gallo had a soft, check-swing grounder that went to the hole between where the shortstop and the third baseman normally would be. The extreme shift, though, meant Gallo reached safely instead of being thrown out. After a Cabrera walk loaded the bases, Forsythe singled home a pair, and then IKF brought a run home with a fielder’s choice.
• Texas only had 7 hits on the game, with Forsythe’s pair of hits giving him the only multi-hit game. Pence had another solid day at the plate, going 1 for 2 with a walk.
• Texas tries to take the series and get back to .500 tomorrow, before starting a 9 game road trip.