0-1 - Rangers are still the Rangers, fall 10-8 in season opener

The Texas Rangers scored eight runs but the Toronto Blue Jays scored ten runs.

Well, that’s one way to start a season.

Four pitches into the new campaign to usher in a new era and the Rangers led 1-0 on a Brad Miller leadoff dong. By the time Texas had hit into its second out of the game, it was 4-0 as every new Rangers’ acquisition had reached base and the new and improved lineup had knocked Jays’ starter Jose Berrios out of the contest having recorded just one out.

By the bottom of the 4th, the Rangers led 7-0 and starter Jon Gray had pitched to the minimum. By the end of 6th, with Gray out of the game with a blister having allowed three runs in four innings, the Blue Jays had come all the way back to overtake Texas with an 8-7 lead.

Adolis Garcia tied the game with a solo El Bombi blast in the top of the 7th but the Jays snuck in an unearned run in the bottom of the frame to take a lead that they would not relinquish while even piling on an insurance tally in the 8th.

Texas allowed at least one Blue Jay run in each of the final five frames with every member of the bullpen that came in (John King, Josh Sborz, Dennis Santana, and Greg Holland) allowing at least a run.

This is what we were sold, so it should hardly be unexpected. The lineup is supposed to be improved and it looked it with eight hits, five walks, eight runs and three home runs. But the pitching is a problem as it has been for nearly every season during the 50 years that the Rangers have now been in Arlington.

Nevertheless, for a little while there, we got a bit of the proof of concept and it was a pretty good time but with the foundation only just now being set, there is ample building left to do.

Player of the Game: When Texas is back playing October baseball, the face that will be used to advertise the team will be Corey Seager’s. He’s the star. And he was good in his debut, too, as he went 2-for-4 with a double and a walk and three runs scored.

But the star tonight was Mitch Garver who also collected a walk and two hits, including a long, loud two-out, two-run home run to pad the lead that the Rangers couldn’t hold. Garver was brought in to provide thump at the catcher position and he did just that in his debut for Texas.

Up Next: The good news with baseball is there’s always a game tomorrow. For the Rangers, that means taking on these Jays again with RHP Dane Dunning make his season debut against RHP Kevin Gausman for Toronto.

Saturday afternoon’s first pitch from Rogers Centre is scheduled for 2:07 pm CDT.