Rangers Win Series Opener against Marlins

Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images

August 4, 2023

Rangers 6, Marlins 2

ARLINGTON, Tex. (Aug 4) — The Texas Rangers took their series opener against the Miami Marlins, 6–2, on Friday night. Fresh off their sweep of the Chicago White Sox, the Rangers used their flowing momentum to ride a two-homer performance by Adolis Garcia to nail down their fourth consecutive win. Between the fireworks from the home runs and the fireworks down the street at Six Flags Over Texas, it was an exciting night in Arlington. The Rangers look to add to their winning streak in the middle game of this series, which is set for Saturday afternoon with first pitch scheduled for 3:05 pm Central at Globe Life Field. Jon Gray (6–5, 3.66 ERA) will get the start for the Rangers, while the Marlins have yet to announce their starting pitcher for that game.

Two Dingers for Garcia

The Marlins got on the board in a hurry on Friday. In the bottom of the first, Luis Arraez scored on a double to center by Josh Bell. The Rangers retaliated in the bottom of the inning on a solo home run to right by Seager. It was Seager’s 17th homer of the year and his 58th RBI in his last 58 games.

The Marlins regained their lead in the top of the second. It came courtesy of a solo shot to left by Jon Berti. The Rangers tied it back up quickly in the bottom of the second. Mitch Garver crossed the plate on a double to center by Leody Taveras.

Garcia’s two home runs accounted for the Rangers’ next two runs of the evening. The first came in the bottom of the third and landed in the seats in right. The other came in the bottom of the sixth and went out to center. It was the seventh multi-homer game of Garcia’s career. Six of them have occurred at Globe Life Field, and that feat stands as the facility record.

The Rangers added on in the bottom of the seventh. Shortly after hitting an infield single to short, Taveras scored on a double to left by Marcus Semien. Two batters later, Semien scored on a sacrifice fly to left hit by Josh Jung.

Pitching Notes

Jordan Montgomery posted the Rangers’ fourth straight quality start in his Rangers debut. He improves to 7–9 with an ERA of 3.40. His line on the evening was 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R-ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 1 HR, 80 pitches/56 strikes. He and Max Scherzer are the only Rangers in the last four seasons to register quality starts in their debut outing. Montgomery is the first left-hander to do it since Brock Burke in his major league debut on August 20, 2019 against the Los Angeles Angels. Montgomery has gone 5–3 with a 2.51 ERA, 62 strikeouts, and 20 walks over his last 12 starts. There was no save recorded, but there was a splash of serendipity when his friend and teammate with the St. Louis Cardinals, Chris Stratton, closed out the game for him.

Marlins starter Jesus Luzardo took his sixth loss of the season in his 23rd start. He now owns a record of 8–6, snapping a three-game winning streak. His line was 5 1/3 IP, 6 H, 4 R-ER, 2 BB, 8 K, 3 HR, 90 pitches/55 strikes. The three home runs allowed tied a career high. In eight interleague starts this season, Luzardo owns a 2–3 record with a 4.12 ERA. Luzardo’s 155 strikeouts lead all Marlins pitchers this season, ranking third in the NL and seventh in the majors. The Rangers’ other two runs were given up by righty Jorge Lopez.

Postgame Comments

Rangers manager Bruce Bochy took his usual seat in the interview room to meet with reporters. First, he addressed Montgomery’s start. He said, “He did a fantastic job. All of our new guys have really done well since arriving here this week, and I couldn’t be happier for them. Monty got off to a little bit of a rocky start, but you have to understand that has a tendency to happen when you come over to a new club. I thought he showed great poise out there, and once he settled in, he put us in a spot to win.”

Bochy was also asked about Garcia’s home runs. He responded with, “No matter how many times you watch him play, you can’t help but marvel at how strong he is. Those two home runs really helped a lot. This was a good win for us tonight.”