Kolby Allard and Nick Solak, man. That’s two mid-season acquisitions that are looking brilliant right now.
Allard continued to do what he’s done since coming to Texas, throwing in the low 90s, keeping his team in the game, and once again picking up a W. 6.1 IP, 8 hits, 1 run, 2 walks and 2 Ks. Allard has, in 6 starts and 33.1 IP in the majors, a 3.78/2.95/4.23 ERA/FIP/xFIP. It’s fair to say he has exceeded expectations.
The bullpen kept the O’s off the board the rest of the way. Emmanuel Clase needed 3 pitches to get 2 outs in the 7th, Rafael Montero threw a scoreless 8th, and Jose Leclerc picked up the save with a scoreless 9th that started with a double, included a two out walk, and ended with Hanser Alberto, the winning run, flying out.
Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but the offensive, outside of Nick Solak, was largely anemic. Solak had a two run homer and a walk. Logan Forsythe had a pair of hits. The rest of the team combined for two hits, and only got their third run of the game due to some Baltimore clownball.
The offense continues to be a problem. The Ranger pitching tonight, however, was more good than the offense was bad.