May 12, 2022 - Game 30
W - Taylor Hearn (2-2)
L - Johnathan Heasley (0-1)
S - Joe Barlow (6)
HR: TEX: Miller (5)
Time of Game: 2:52
Cowboy Hat Winner: Taylor Hearn (1st)
Game Recap
After a positive Tuesday and a rough Wednesday, the Rangers and Royals concluded a three-game series on Thursday. The club sent their home opener starter, Taylor Hearn, to the mound for the first time since May 1st (he pitched in the bullpen in 2020 and to start 2021). "If anything, one of the things the bullpen did was shorten my bullpen routine," Hearn told me when I asked if being in the bullpen helped the eleven day layoff. "I used to be a guy that would throw thirty pitches in the bullpen and now like fifteen max." On the other side, the Rangers squared off against a local kid, Johnathan Heasley. Heasley attended Prestonwood Christian Academy in Plano, Texas. He started three games last season for the Royals at the end of the year.
Texas struck first in the first inning with an opposite-field bloop single by Kole Calhoun down the left-field line. Nick Solak couldn't tack on another against the Kansas City starter. The Rangers' offense had opportunities in the second and fourth innings with runners in scoring position but couldn't find that big hit the offense sought out. The Rangers continued the aggressiveness on the bases, with Eli White stealing his fifth base. "We may have been a little more calculated this year than [we] were last year," Tony Beasley told me. "We are still trying to get certain guys to take a few more risks this year. The situation [has been] more calculation with aggression this year."
Brad Miller added fireworks with a pole scraping homer down the right-field line in the seventh inning. The umpires went to replay, but it quickly confirmed, extending the Rangers' lead to 2-0. In the eighth inning, the Royals cracked the scoreboard with three straight hits off John King. Salvador Perez snuck a single to right field scoring Whit Merrifield to cut the Rangers' lead to 2-1. The Rangers again used their speed and aggressive baserunning to scratch another run. Adolis García began the inning with a triple down the right field line while evading a tag, then scoring on a wild pitch by Royals’ reliever Josh Staumont. "He does things that are different," Rangers manager Chris Woodward said about Adolis García. [He's] a big strong guy but has a ton of athleticism and a ton of skills. When you see it on display it's impressive."
Taylor Hearn pitched one of his better games of the season Thursday. The plan was to semi-limit the workload (Chris Woodward talked before the game and ranged about eighty pitches), and Hearn went five innings in sixty-four pitches. Taylor gave up one hit, walked three, and struck out five in his five innings of work. Brock Burke continued to do what he does, pitch scoreless frames. Burke walked a batter in his two innings of work, struck out a batter, and didn't allow a hit or run. John King pitched to contact, but the Royals found holes in the eighth inning. King allowed three hits, one run, and a strikeout in two-thirds of an inning. Matt Bush cleaned up the mess and kept the lead by striking out Bobby Witt Jr. Joe Barlow came in and finished with a scoreless ninth, though allow a hit and a walk on Thursday.
Postgame Notes
Sixty-four pitches for Taylor Hearn is the lowest pitch total since Hearn became a starter. In addition, it's his lowest in an outing since August 5th, 2021, vs. the Angels (he pitched the fourth-seventh innings in that outing).
Rangers have won back-to-back home series for the first time since April 29th-May 2nd vs. Boston and May 7th-9th vs. Seattle.
Eli White is one of nine MLB players to have five or more stolen bases without being caught.
The Rangers have won three of the last four games Taylor Hearn started. Before that stretch, Texas had lost five straight Hearn starts.
Brad Miller homered in back-to-back games for the first time since August 30th and August 31st, 2021, with the Phillies against Washington.
Eight of Brock Burke's ten outings are scoreless outings. Seven of the eight scoreless outings have been appearances where Burke threw more than one inning.
Thursday was the fourth straight outing John King allowed multiple hits. One of those four outings was more than one inning of work.
Texas has scored in the first inning in five of their last ten games. They've won all five of those games.
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