The Texas Rangers scored zero runs but the Cleveland Guardians scored six runs.
The irony-pilled cynic in me saw that tonight’s Guardians starting pitcher Tanner Bibee was winless for American League Central-leading Cleveland in 14 starts this season while coming into the game sporting a mid-4s ERA and immediately thought, “Oh yeah, he’s for sure beating the Rangers tonight.”
It wasn’t even that difficult for him to achieve my doomed prophecy. There really isn’t much to say about this game. The Rangers just kind of got their asses kicked. I guess the best you can say is that there are 162 games per year and several of them ultimately end up like this one.
If you want to point to a series of moments in which it became clear that tonight wasn’t going to be the night for a victory, it was probably the juncture where, in a 1-0 game in the bottom of the fourth, with the Rangers having sent up the minimum with their lone baserunner by that point being erased on a double play, Texas got a two-on, two-out rally needing a big hit with RISP to tie the game but Wyatt Langford flew out to end the threat.
That was pretty much the only threat of the night for the lineup. Meanwhile a half inning later, Texas starter Jack Leiter allowed his second solo home run to make it 2-0 before the Guardians eventually tacked on three more in the inning, all with two outs.
In like a 20 minute span the Rangers went from a hit away from a tied game in the middle innings to Leiter exiting in a relative blowout. Leiter entered that the top of the fifth having made just one mistake pitch to Jose Ramirez for a solo home run and the game’s first run and then left without even being able to make it through the inning having allowed five runs in 4.2 frames overall.
Meanwhile, the Rangers got one more hit the rest of the way and the Guardians got another run in the eighth off the Texas bullpen. As for Bibee? He tossed eight shutout on 87 pitches for his first win of the season.
Who told Chris Young he turn the run suppression machine back on at The Shed just because the Rangers had won a few games lately?
Player of the Game: I’m thinking it’s probably Cal Quantrill for pitching multiple innings of scoreless mop up relief if that tells you anything about this game.
Up Next: The Rangers and Guardians close out this series with RHP Jacob deGrom looking to help Texas claim a series win opposite LHP Joey Cantillo for Cleveland in the finale.
The Sunday afternoon first pitch from The Shed is scheduled for 1:35 pm CDT and you can view it on the Rangers Sports Network.
