Rangers Split Series with Tigers

June 30, 2023

Tigers 8, Rangers 5

ARLINGTON, Tex. (June 29) — The Texas Rangers walked away with a split in their four-game series against the Detroit Tigers on Thursday, losing the finale, 8–5. One of the key factors for the Tigers in this one was two solo shots by Spencer Torkelson. Ezequiel Duran and Leody Taveras both homered for the Rangers; however, they weren’t able to capitalize on the momentum. With the Tigers leaving town, the Rangers now begin a four-game set against the Houston Astros. The opener of that series is on Friday at 7:05 pm Central at Globe Life Field. Right-hander Ronel Blanco (1–0, 4.63 ERA) will get the start for the Astros. The Rangers will counter with fellow righty Jon Gray (6–3, 2.89 ERA).

Another Fast Start for Rangers

For the second time in as many days, the Rangers got on the board in the first inning. Marcus Semien scored on a sharp single to center by Josh Jung. The Tigers tied it up in the top of the second, when a triple to right by Jake Marisnick drove in Jake Rogers. It didn’t stay tied for long, however. On the next pitch, Marisnick sprinted home on a single to center by Matt Vierling. The score remained 2–1 until the bottom of the fourth. Duran tied it back up with a solo home run to left-center. The Tigers regained the lead in the top of the fifth. It came courtesy of Torkelson, who hit his first solo homer of the game to left. The game of cat and mouse continued in the bottom of the sixth when Taveras hit the Rangers’ second solo homer of the afternoon to tie it once again.

The Tigers took a 4–3 lead in the top of the seventh. Vierling crossed the plate on a single to left by second baseman and former Ranger Andy Ibañez. Zach McKinstry made it 5–3 in the top of the eighth on a single to right that drove in Jake Rogers. Torkelson’s second homer of the afternoon came later in the inning. It was of the three-run variety, and it went to left. The Rangers made a small comeback in the bottom of the ninth, as they tried for the series win over the Tigers. Duran scored on a bases-loaded walk to Travis Jankowski, and a sacrifice fly by Nathaniel Lowe plated Josh H. Smith to make it 8–5. The Rangers’ rally fizzled, however, as Adolis Garcia lined sharply to Ibañez at second to end the game.

High Pitch Count for Bradford

Cody Bradford got the start for the Rangers on Thursday. Bradford struck out a career-high eight batters in his fourth start of the season, and took a no-decision. His final line on the afternoon was 4 1/3 IP, 4 H, 3 R-ER, 3 BB, 8 K, 1 HR, 90 pitches/61 strikes. Pitching on two days’ rest after making his first career relief appearance on Monday against the Tigers, Bradford became the first Rangers rookie left-hander with 8+ strikeouts in a single game since Hyeon-Jong Yang on May 5, 2021 against the Minnesota Twins. He exited in line for the loss trailing 3–2 in the fifth after surrendering the go-ahead solo shot to Torkelson. Joe Barlow came on in relief in the sixth, gave up one run without recording an out, and took the loss. He now has a record of 1–1, with an ERA of 3.00.

More Injuries on the Mound for the Tigers

John King followed Barlow in the seventh, and gave up four runs, all earned, over two innings. Tigers starter Reese Olson exited after 1 2/3 innings due to injury. He was struck in the left leg by a Smith line drive in the second inning. Olson sustained a left knee contusion on the play. He was the third Tigers pitcher to exit a game with an injury over the final three games of this series.

Prior to the injury, he gave up one run on three hits. Olson walked one and struck out two. Tyler Holton came on in relief of Olson, gave up a run, and struck out two. Righty Mason Englert got the win for the Tigers. He pitched one inning and gave up one run on one hit. He is now 4–2 on the year with an ERA of 4.73. Righty Jose Cisnero also gave up a run, and Alex Lange gave up the Rangers’ final two runs on the afternoon.

Postgame Comments

Rangers manager Bruce Bochy fielded questions about Bradford’s outing after the game. He said, “Cody was alright. He just ran out of pitches. The way I see it, that was the only issue that he ran into. He did a great job and kept us in the game. It just got to the point where I had to go get him because of how high the pitch count was. He was at 61 pitches in the fifth, and he is still new to this level. You want to avoid rushing these guys if you can, and this was just one of those days. We need to remember that these guys are human, and with how young Cody is, I just felt it was time to call it a day for him.”