Rangers Sweep Guardians in Comeback Fashion

July 16, 2023

Rangers 6, Guardians 5

ARLINGTON, Tex. (Jul 16) — The Texas Rangers completed the sweep of the Cleveland Guardians on Sunday afternoon, as they won 6–5. A solo home run in the first by Marcus Semien was one of many bright spots for the Rangers in a game of rather inspired baseball. With this series now behind them, the Rangers will play host to the Tampa Bay Rays for three games. The series opener is on Monday evening at 7:05 pm Central at Globe Life Field. Left-hander Shane McClanahan (11–1, 2.53 ERA), on the 15-day IL since July 1 with a back ailment, will get the start for the Rays. Right-hander Dane Dunning (8–2, 2.84 ERA) will take the hill for the Rangers.

The Steven Kwan Show

The Guardians got on the board minutes after lefty Martin Perez threw his final warmup pitches. Steven Kwan led off the game with a solo home run to right-center on the second pitch. In the bottom of the first, the Rangers answered right back in leadoff fashion as well. Following Kwan’s example, Semien teed off and sent a ball to the seats in left just inside the foul pole.

Kwan drove in two more runs in the top of the second. This time, he hit a single to center that allowed David Fry and Gabriel Arias to come home.

The Rangers cut the Guardians’ lead to 3–2 in the bottom of the third. Corey Seager scored thanks to a single to center by Nathaniel Lowe. The Guardians made it 5–2 in the top of the eighth on a two-run shot to left by Fry. The Rangers came back with four runs in the bottom of the eighth to take a 6–5 lead. Lowe plated Semien with a single to center. Adolis Garcia drove in Seager with a double to left. Lowe scored moments later, along with Garcia, on a single to left by Josh Jung.

Pitching Notes

Rangers starter Martin Perez took a no-decision Sunday. In his first start of the second half of the season, he permitted three runs, all earned, over five innings. He walked four, struck out two, and surrendered one home run. Despite his struggles, Perez settled in to hold the Guardians scoreless on one hit over his last three innings. Cody Bradford came in to pitch the next three innings. He gave up two earned runs on three hits. One of those hits was a home run. He also struck out four. Bradford got the win for his effort. His record now sits at 2–1 with an ERA of 4.55. Will Smith came in to pitch the ninth, earning his 16th save of the season after giving up one hit and striking out one.

Tanner Bibee made his 14th start of the season for the Guardians on Sunday. He did not factor into the decision, despite posting a quality start. His line on the afternoon was 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R-ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 1 HR, 98 pitches/66 strikes. Bibee retired 10 of the final 11 batters he faced, including five via the strikeout. It marked his 12th start of 5+ IP, and three or fewer ER allowed, tying Aaron Civale (2019-20) for most such starts within a Guardian’s first 14 career starts. Righty Trevor Stephan took the loss for the Guardians in this contest. He threw a third of inning, giving up four runs, all earned, on three hits. He also gave out two free passes. His record now sits at 4–4, with an ERA of 3.43.

Postgame Comments

After the game, Rangers manager Bruce Bochy reflected on the start that his team has gotten off to since the All-Star Break. He said, “We’ve had a couple of great comebacks in this series. The bullpen really held up, and I couldn’t be happier about that. This was just a really good series for the guys, and truth be told, it will make things easier going into this next series with Tampa Bay. That’s another tough team, and the momentum from these past three games will do us a lot of good.”