Thoughts on a 3-2 Rangers loss

Tigers 3, Rangers 2

• Ah, well. Can’t win ‘em all. Especially with an umpire calling a shitty strike zone.
• Dane Dunning wasn’t great but overall he was fine. He allowed one run in his first five innings, then started the sixth by allowing two straight hits and was pulled. Jonathan Hernandez was put in to preserve a 1-1 tie. A bunt single loaded the bases, then a sac fly and a single resulted in the two inherited runs scoring. And that ended up being all Detroit needed.
• I guess one could, if one really wanted, rail about the bullpen being to blame here, but I don’t think that’s really the case. Hernandez pounded the strike zone. A bunt single is just one of those things. He was put into a tough situation and didn’t keep the runs from scoring, but he didn’t pitch poorly. It was really one of the more encouraging outings we have seen from Hernandez in a while.
• Brock Burke finished out the sixth and threw a scoreless seventh, though he allowed a couple of hits. Jose Leclerc, put in to pitch the eighth in a one run game, pitched well, getting a strikeout, a weak ground out and a pop fly to the outfield.
• So yeah, the bullpen came in with the game tied and the Rangers lost by one run. Big picture, though, the pitching was good today, and Hernandez and Leclerc gave reason to think they are getting back on track.
• No, the problem was Rangers getting 11 hits and 3 walks and only scored a pair of runs. The Rangers have done better than expected with runners on base this year, but it didn’t happen against the Tigers on Wednesday.
• A lousy strike zone which featured a number of pitches out of the zone being called strikes on Rangers hitters late in the game didn’t help.
• But whatever, It happens. And I guess I can be a lot more sanguine about things when the Rangers just finished a 6-3 road trip and have won 9 of their last 12. I’m more inclined to shrug off a close loss like this under those circumstances.
• Dane Dunning’s sinker maxed out at 91.9 mph. Jonathan Hernandez’s sinker reached 99.1 mph. Brock Burke hit 96.0 mph on his fastball. Jose Leclerc topped out at 95.8 mph.
• Marcus Semien had a 107.9 mph double, a 101.2 mph fly out to lead off the game that, per Statcast, would have been a home run in 26 of 30 stadiums, and a 100.8 mph lineout. Jonah Heim had a 107.8 mph single. Corey Seager had a 107.6 mph single, a 104.5 mph single, and a 104.6 mph lineout. Josh Smith had a 105.4 mph groundout and a 102.2 mph groundout. Josh Jung had a 103.6 mph single. Nathaniel Lowe had a 103.2 mph lineout and a 101.6 mph single. Adolis Garcia had a 102.7 mph double. Leody Taveras had a 100.1 mph groundout.
• So we don’t go into the off day reveling in a sweep and luxuriating in a win. We shall have to console ourselves with the fact that the Rangers are 35-20 and in first place in the A.L. West.