Thoughts on a 7-4 loss

Twins 7, Rangers 4

• I guess the good news is there’s just one more game before the All Star Break.
• Jesse Chavez got the start today, which is a reminder the Rangers rotation situation continues to be somewhat problematic. He didn’t pitch bad, allowing 5 runs (4 earned) in 5 innings, with 2 walks against 3 Ks. The unearned run was because, with the bases loaded and one out in the second, Joey Gallo threw home on a sac fly where he had no shot of getting the runner, and threw it so high over Jeff Mathis it caromed off the back wall behind home plate (or Chavez, who was backing the play up) and almost bounced into the Rangers dugout. That allowed the runners to both advance, and thus both score on the two out single that followed.
• It wasn’t a good day for Joey Gallo.
• Pedro Payano made his major league debut in the bottom of the sixth of what was at the time a 5-1 game. He got a fly out, a walk, and a 6-3 line out double play, so that’s a successful first outing.
• The Rangers made it 5-4 in the 7th, and so while Payano likely would have pitched another inning, Jose Leclerc came in to keep it a one run game. After a K and a popup, it appeared he had a grounder for the third out, but the chopper went off his glove and died, resulting in an infield single. Leclerc then got Nelson Cruz swinging on a slider that bounced well in front of the plate, off Mathis’s chest, and away, making it seem like the Twins were going to extend their lead due to a couple of fluke plays. Leclerc struck out Luis Arreaz to end the inning, however.
• Shawn Kelley pitched the 8th after having barely pitched lately, and a homer-single-double sequence gave Minnesota the final two runs they recorded.
• As for the offense, Willie Calhoun had a home run, Elvis Andrus had a home run and a walk, and Shin-Soo Choo had three hits. No one else did much.
• Joey Gallo, Nomar Mazara and Rougned Odor, hitting 4-5-6, were 0 for 12 with 8 Ks. That’s less than ideal.
• Ronald Guzman got a single, but also was lifted for a pinch hitter in the 9th. I find myself wondering how safe his roster spot is at this moment.
• Anyway, Leclerc opens for Joe Palumbo tomorrow. We will see if they can avoid the sweep.