Thoughts on a 4-3 Rangers win

Rangers 4, Mariners 3

• Another one run win! It’s a miracle!
• The Rangers took two of three, in Seattle, against the Mariners’ three best starting pitchers, with their 4-5-6 starters. Texas only scored six runs in the series, and still won two games. That’s a hell of an outcome.
• Dane Dunning continued his unexpectedly excellent 2023, needing just 71 pitches to go six innings. He got 12 swinging strikes in those 71 pitches, more than one would expect from Dunning, and struck out five. In looking at his heat map he worked up in the zone much more than usual, but it worked.
• I was surprised Dunning didn’t go deeper in the game, given the bullpen’s issues, and that Bruce Bochy turned to Josh Sborz to protect a two run lead. Sborz appears to have moved up in the Bochy Tree of Trust, however, and came through with a 1-2-3, 2 K inning.
• Look, I’m going to admit that there was a big part of me that saw the run score in the eighth inning, saw Jonathan Hernandez walk the first batter he faced after a bunch of foul balls, saw that runner steal second to put two runners in scoring position with a one run lead, saw Hernandez go 3-2 and get fouled off a bunch again to the next batter, and was emotionally preparing myself for disaster. I was fully prepared for another blown game by the pen and another online meltdown.
• But Hernandez finally said fuck it and, on his ninth pitch to Cal Raleigh, pumped 99 down the middle. Raleigh swung and missed, the inning was over, and Will Smith had an easy 1-2-3 ninth to end the game.
• And there was rejoicing.
• The offense did better than one would expect for just four runs scoring. No walks, but 13 hits, including three doubles and a sixth inning Marcus Semien home run. Semien, Adolis Garcia, Leody Taveras and Josh Smith all had two hit games. Every starter had a hit. That’s pretty impressive.
• Dane Dunning’s sinker maxed out at 92.9 mph. Josh Sborz reached 97.9 mph with his fastball. Brock Burke hit 95.5 mph with his fastball. Jonathan Hernandez’s sinker hit 99.3 mph. Will Smith didn’t throw a fastball, but did throw an 89.3 mph change up.
• Adolis Garcia had a 108.6 mph single and a 100.5 mph fly out. Marcus Semien’s home run was 107.4 mph. Josh Jung had a 104.8 mph single and a 101.2 mph groundout. Leody Taveras had a 105.2 mph single. Ezequiel Duran had a 104.7 mph groundout and a 104.6 mph single. Nathaniel Lowe had a 104.5 mph double.
• The Texas Rangers are still in sole possession of first place, and now head out for four games in Oakland.