Thoughts on a 4-3 Rangers loss

Jays 4, Rangers 3

• If you are keeping track at home, that’s now 11 losses in the Rangers’ last 12 games.
• Five of those 11 losses, including their last three losses, have been by one run.
• Dane Dunning was okay. He gave up a run in the first, though it wasn’t First Inning Dane Dunning making a reappearance. The first two batters of the game hit weak rollers into the ground in front of the plate, but they were so weakly hit that neither of them could be thrown out at first. An error on the throw to first on the leadoff batter allowed the batter to go to second, where he advanced to third on the next infield single and then scored on a slowly hit Bo Bichette grounder that was too weakly hit to be a GIDP.
• The Bichette grounder did allow the newly promoted Josh Jung to show off some flashy defense, as he made a backhand flip to second on the play to get the lead runner.
• Dunning allowed two more runs in the third, and unlike in the first inning, this wasn’t just weak grounders going for hits. Vlad Junior smoked a two out double, and then Bo Bichette took Dunning deep to right center.
• Those were the only three runs Dunning allowed, though he had issues with his command as the game went on, and ended up getting lifted after a walk-double-walk sequence with two outs in the sixth inning. Dennis Santana came in and got a weak pop out to end the inning.
• Brock Burke gave the Rangers two shutout innings, including escaping a jam in the eighth when Bo Bichette tripled with one out. Burke fanned Alejandro Kirk and Matt Chapman to get out of the inning.
• Jose Leclerc was asked to handle the ninth in a tie game. It didn’t work out. Leclerc walked lead off hitter Raimel Tapia, who stole second base, then scored on a single by Danny Jansen. When the Rangers couldn’t come back in the ninth, it became yet another one run loss.
• Offensively, the story was Josh Jung. Making his long-delayed and much-awaited debut, Jung got a big ovation when he came to the plate in the third, then got a bigger ovation when he lifted a fly ball to left-center field that carried just enough to get over the fence, giving him a home run in his first major league plate appearance. Jung later picked up a single, ultimately going two for four in the game.
• The Rangers managed to push across a run in the sixth, when Corey Seager singled home Marcus Semien, who had registered a two out double, and then another in the eighth, when Seager doubled home Bubba Thompson to tie the game.
• Texas even had a chance in the ninth, with Leody Taveras picking up a one out single, and then stealing second base with Jung at the plate, setting up a scenario for Jung to bring him the tying run. Jung struck out swinging, though, and then pinch hitter Adolis Garcia flew out, and that was the ballgame.
• Dane Dunning maxed out at 90.9 mph, averaging 89.4 mph on his sinker. Dennis Santana hit 98.0 mph. Brock Burke topped out at 97.3 mph. Jose Leclerc reached 98.5 mph.
• Corey Seager had a 108.5 mph single, a 103.7 mph double, and a 101.4 mph fly out. Bubba Thompson had a double with an exit velocity of 106.7 mph. Josh Jung’s homer was 102.6 mph. Marcus Semien had a 101.4 mph flyout.
• The Rangers will try again on Saturday. Hopefully it will go better.