Dodgers Rout Rangers in Middle Game

Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images

July 22, 2023

Dodgers 16, Rangers 3

ARLINGTON, Tex. (Jul 22) — The Texas Rangers couldn’t get their offense rolling while the Los Angeles Dodgers had no trouble, leading to a 16–3 rout Saturday afternoon in front of a sellout crowd of 40,738. A home run by Marcus Semien and a two-run triple by Nathaniel Lowe were the only highlights for the Rangers in this one. They look to avoid the sweep on Sunday afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 1:35 pm Central at Globe Life Field. Right-hander Emmet Sheehan (3–0, 4.91 ERA) will get the starting nod for the Dodgers. The Rangers will send lefty Martin Perez (7–3, 4.84 ERA) to the mound in the series finale.

Sparse Offense for Rangers

Despite having numerous chances, the Rangers scored three runs on the afternoon. The first came in the bottom of the first on a leadoff home run to left-center by Semien. This was one of the few bright spots of the afternoon for the Rangers and Semien, as this home run was the 200th of Semien’s career. From this point on, however, it was all Dodgers. In the top of the second, Max Muncy scored on a double to left by David Peralta to tie the game. Two batters later, J.D. Martinez, who reached on a walk earlier in the inning, scored on a single to right by James Outman. The next batter was Miguel Rojas, who grounded into a 4-6-3 double play that drove in Peralta. That stretched the lead to 3–1 in the top of the econd.

Dodgers Tack on More

Freddie Freeman led off the third with a solo homer to make it 4–1 Dodgers. Moments later, Muncy followed up with another solo shot to extend the lead to 5–1. By this time the legions of Dodger fans in attendance had made their presence known at Globe Life Field.

One inning later, in the top of the fourth, Freeman struck again. This time, he hit a three-run blast to right, running the score to 7–1. Later in the frame, after walks to Dodgers catcher Will Smith and Muncy given up by Rangers reliever Glenn Otto, Dodgers designated hitter J.D. Martinez hit a towering blast to give his team a 10–1 lead.

The Rangers scored two in the bottom of the fifth on a triple to center by Lowe. Ezequiel Duran and Travis Jankowski scored on the play. The Dodgers tacked on three more in the top of the eighth. A double to left by Muncy plated Freeman. Martinez scored Smith with a sacrifice fly, and a single to center by Peralta drove in Muncy.

Dunn Early

Rangers righty Dane Dunning took his third loss in his 22nd game of the season. He is now 8–3 with an ERA of 3.18. His line on the afternoon was 3 IP, 7 H, 5 R-ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 2 HR, 79 pitches/45 strikes. His three innings pitched are the lowest amount since transitioning to a starter role on May 5 against the Los Angeles Angels. The Dodgers’ other runs were given up by Glenn Otto (5), Yerry Rodriguez (3), and Brad Miller (3). Miller, who typically serves as a DH, came on to pitch late in the game to give the bullpen some rest.

Dodgers starter Bobby Miller got the winning decision for the Dodgers on Saturday. He pitched six innings, during which he gave up all three of the Rangers’ runs on seven hits. In addition, he allowed no walks, struck out six, and allowed the leadoff homer to Semien in the bottom of the first. There was no save recorded.

Garcia/Seager Injury Report

Adolis Garcia was removed from the game after being hit by a pitch in the fourth inning. X-rays were negative. This comes a day after Corey Seager sprained his thumb while sliding into second. They opted to put Seager on the 10-day IL prior to the game on Saturday. Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said that Garcia would “continue to be monitored and evaluated.”

Postgame Comments

Bochy was asked what he saw from Dane Dunning in this game. He said, “It’s fair to say that he was a little off. He was battling out there. Dane wasn’t as sharp as we’ve seen in the past. His pitches caught up with him. Any time that happens after the third inning, you always have to be careful. He’s been one of our shutdown guys this year, and we can’t afford to have anything bad happen to him. Obviously, you never want to make a change that early in a game, but sometimes you really have no choice.”

Bochy was also asked about the decision to bring Miller in to pitch. He replied with, “You always look for ways to get your bullpen some rest when they need it. Sometimes that requires making moves you don’t see every day, and this is something that Brad (Miller) has been wanting to do for awhile. Given what the score was, he had some fun with it.”