34-53 - Rangers blooped to death to drop finale to Tigers 5-3

The Joey Gallos scored three runs but the Detroit Tigers scored five runs.

Kyle Gibson was probably due for an outing like this but you hate to see it come just as he was about to finish off such a wizardly first half and just before his first career All-Star Game appearance.

Gibson came into today’s game with the AL’s top ERA at 1.98 but his 86.8% strand rate was due for an adjustment at some point and today the Tigers blooped and softly hit their way into five runs off of Gibson in his 6 ¹⁄₃ innings.

Gibson gave up those five runs on eight hits and two walks with seven Ks today. His ERA now sits at a still impressive 2.29 but he was also blemished with his first loss of the season.

Tied 2-2 in the top of the seventh, the Tigers sequenced Gibson and the Texas Rangers with four hits — none hit particularly hard — and two walks to plate the three runs that made up the difference in today’s game.

The most critical play of the afternoon came with Joely Rodriguez in relief of Gibson with the bases loaded and Miguel Cabrera at the plate. Cabrera isn’t that Miguel Cabrera anymore (sporting just a 80 wRC+ on the season) but he’s still a frightening player to see at the plate with the bases loaded and the game all square.

With one out, Rodriguez entered and induced a ground ball that likely would have gotten the Rangers out of the inning with a double play, saved three runs on Gibson’s ledger, and kept the game tied with the plodding Cabrera making his way to first base.

Rather than letting his infielders to do their jobs, however, Rodriguez stabbed at the ball headed for the second base bag and deflected it to between first and second base and, by the time Eli White corralled it, Cabrera had a rare infield single and the Tigers had a lead that they would add to and never look back from.

Gibson is 6-1 and an All-Star so he’s not sweating it but he was this close to a perfect first half so that makes this outcome kind of annoying.

At least the Rangers have Joey Gallo.

Player of the Game: It was a one man show today as Gallo hit two long solo home runs to become the only player in franchise history to swat ten dongs in a ten game stretch. The first homer was impressive as it soared 440 ft midway up the first deck in right field but blast No. 2 was something special:

That’s a Josh Hamilton at his hottest kind of majestic bomb. At 462 ft, it’s now the longest dong by a Ranger at The Shed. Gallo also walked with the bases loaded to drive in the third of three Rangers runs.

Oh, and because he’s not the one dimensional player that he is often painted to be, he also hosed a guy at third base trying to take an extra base on his arm.

Gallo is now up to a 3.4 fWAR on the year, which is top ten in baseball. He will participate in the dinger derby at Coors Field because, yes, sometimes the dream scenarios come true.

Up Next: The Rangers have tomorrow off before welcoming the Oakland A’s to Arlington for the final series of the season’s first half.