Rangers Take Series Opener from Rockies

Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images

May 19, 2023

Rangers 7, Rockies 2

ARLINGTON, Tex. (May 19) — The Texas Rangers took the opener in their series against the Colorado Rockies, 7–2, on Friday. Adolis Garcia contributed in a big way with his third homer in his last two games. Ezequiel Duran and Corey Seager also chipped in with RBI doubles. The Rangers redeemed themselves nicely in this game after losing two of three to the Atlanta Braves earlier in the week. The middle game in this three-game series is Saturday afternoon at 3:05 pm Central at Globe Life Field. Lefty Kyle Freeland (4–4, 3.16 ERA) will get the ball for the Rockies, and righty Jon Gray (3–1, 3.15 ERA) will start for the Rangers.

Garcia Homers Again

This game remained in a scoreless tie until the bottom of the fourth. Adolis Garcia got things started with a two-run home run to right-center. This was Garcia’s third homer in his last two games. He has 14 long balls on the season. The Rangers stretched the lead to 4–0 in the bottom of the fifth. Corey Seager, fresh off the IL, lined a double to left that allowed Leody Taveras and Marcus Semien to score.

Three batters later, Josh Jung drove in Seager and Garcia to extend the Rangers’ lead over the Rockies to 6–0. Moments later, Robbie Grossman made it 7–0 with a single to left that plated Jung. The Rockies broke their scoreless seal in the top of the sixth. Charlie Blackmon crossed the plate thanks to a double to right by Elias Diaz. Next up was Randal Grichuk, who drove in Diaz with a sharp single to left.

Good Night for Pérez

Rangers lefty Martin Pérez logged season highs in both innings (7) and pitches (104) on Friday. Pérez produced his first ultra-quality start (7+ IP, 2 or fewer ER) of the campaign (W, 7 IP, 7 H, 2 R-ER, 0 BB, 7 K, 104 pitches/72 strikes). He earned the win to improve to 5–1 on the season. His five victories are tied with Nathan Eovaldi for the team lead. Friday marked his 60th career win as a Ranger.

He is the 11th pitcher (fourth left-hander) to reach that plateau with the club. The other lefties on the list are Kenny Rogers (133), Derek Holland (62), and Darren Oliver (60). Friday’s outing was the second of Pérez’s career in which he logged 7+ IP and 7+ strikeouts without issuing a walk (also 7 IP, 8 K, 0 BB on May 18, 2017 against the Philadelphia Phillies as a Ranger). Pérez owns a career 8–5 record and 2.70 ERA (35 ER/116 2/3 IP) over 20 G/GS at Globe Life Field.

Tough Debut for Kauffman

Rockies right-hander Karl Kauffman took the loss in his major league debut (4 1/3 IP, 7 H, 5 R-4 ER). He did not allow a run over his first three innings. Kauffman is the first Rockies pitcher to make his major league debut with a start since Ryan Feltner on September 5, 2021 against the Atlanta Braves. He is the third pitcher to make his debut with a start against the Rangers in 2023. The others are Grayson Rodriguez of the Baltimore Orioles on April 5 (ND, 5 IP, 2 R-ER) and Brandon Pfaadt of the Arizona Diamondbacks (ND, 4 2/3 IP, 7 R-ER, 4 HR). Kauffman is the fourth pitcher overall in ’23 to make his debut with a start at Globe Life Field.

Postgame Comments

In his postgame media session, Rangers manager Bruce Bochy gave his evaluation of Martin Pérez’s start. He said, “He did really good. Martin pitched seven solid innings. In the sixth, he had some bad luck but he went back out, and his stuff sort of re-emerged, and he was able to get us through the seventh.”

Bochy was also asked how encouraged he was with Friday’s offense. He replied with, “It seemed like every inning, or every other inning at least, one of our guys did something to pad our lead. Corey (Seager) had a big hit, and you have to be amazed with what (Adolis) Garcia is doing. This is just a fun ball club to watch and manage.”