Thoughts on a 3-2 Rangers win

Rangers 3, Pirates 2

• And it’s another series win for your Texas Rangers.
• I mentioned weirdness yesterday from yesterday’s game. Today, we have the weirdness of the Rangers scoring three times before there were two outs recorded in the game, then didn’t score again, and still won the game.
• And then we also have the Pirates loading the bases with no one out in the bottom of the second, scoring a couple of runs, then with one out hitting into a double play, then never scoring again.
• So we have what looked early on like it would be a high scoring game that turned out to be a low scoring one run game.
• Oh, yeah, it was a win in a one run game. That still seems kind of novel.
• Texas is now 4-5 in one run games in 2023. Texas is 16-7 in blowouts. Texas is 11-6 in all other games.
• Martin Perez went seven innings and ended up pitching backwards. He threw more change ups than anything else, 38 out of 95 pitchers, while throwing 37 sinkers. 75 pitches that were either change ups or sinkers. He threw 15 cutters, 4 fastballs and 1 slider.
• Perez only got eight swings and misses. He struck out just three batters. But what he did worked. He induced weak contact, and after the second inning, didn’t allow a runner past first base.
• In case you are curious, Perez now has a 3.83 ERA on the year.
• Jose Leclerc was asked to protect a one run lead in the 8th. That could have gone better.
• Ground out, hard hit single, weakly hit single, walk. Bases loaded and that was it for Leclerc. Will Smith was asked to retire five batters for the save.
• Smith did his job. He got out of Leclerc’s jam, had a 1-2-3 ninth, and preserved the one.
• So no bullpen meltdown today resulting in a loss. But the ongoing drama in the late innings continues.
• Martin Perez topped out at 93.5 mph on his sinker, averaging 92.1 mph. Jose Leclerc hit 96.9 mph. Will Smith reached 94.8 mph.
• Adolis Garcia had a 108.9 mph groundout. Nathaniel Lowe had a double with a 105.2 mph double. Josh Jung had a 104.1 mph fly out. Leody Taveras had a 100.2 mph ground out.
• Texas heads into the off day with a three game lead in the West. Let’s revel in that for a day or so.