The Texas Rangers came into Saturday having lost two games in a row. They needed a rebound game against the Twins after Friday night’s bullpen meltdown.
Jordan Montgomery took the mound for Texas to try and get them that elusive win. After allowing back-to-back singles, a double play and a groundout got him out of the inning unharmed.
Marcus Semien led off the bottom of the first with a double, and Adolis Garcia brought him home a few batters later on his 33 homers of the season, and the Ranger quickly jumped out to a 2-0 lead.
After Robbie Grossman led off the second with a double, Sam Huff drove a ball 430 into the left field bleachers to give the Rangers a 4-0 lead.
The Twins scored in the third, and the Rangers led 4-1. Jordan Montgomery did not make it through the 4th inning as he surrendered 5 runs on 4 hits to give the Twins the 6-4 lead.
Montgomery’s final line was not good. Six runs on 7 hits and 2 walks. No strikeouts. That was not the start the Rangers needed from him.
“(Montgomery) has been throwing so well, that third inning kind of unraveled for him. Tried to give him a chance that early in the ballgame, but I had to go get him,” Bruce Bochy told the media after the game.
The Rangers got one back in the bottom of the 4th, and then both offenses went quiet.
In the 8th inning, the Twins walked Lowe, Garcia, and Garver to load the bases, and Robbie Grossman hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 6. The Rangers, however, let runners on 1st and third as J.P. Martinez struck out to end the inning.
The Twins plated three in the top of the 10th, and the Rangers scored one in the bottom of the tenth, making them 0-2 in September.
For some reason, the Rangers can’t win extra-inning games. They are now 2-7 in games longer than 9 innings, 1-2 at Globe Life Field.
“It usually comes down to what happens with the bullpen,” Bochy said about the Rangers’ record in extra innings.
“Their guy did a good job, and we just lost it there in the 10th inning.”
The Rangers try to salvage a win in the series tomorrow with Jon Gray on the mound for Texas.
Scoring for Jon Gray has been at a premium this season.
The Mariners won against the Mets on Saturday, putting the Rangers 2 games back in the AL West and half a game behind the Astros. Of course, the Rangers have a showdown with the Astros starting Monday.
Hopefully, they can stay just a half-game behind Houston with a win tomorrow.
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