April 9, 2022 - Game 2
W - Trevor Richards (1-0)
L - Brett Martin (0-1)
S - Jordan Romano (2)
HR: TOR: Bichette (1)
Time of Game: 2:39
Game Recap
In the third, the Rangers mustered up offense against Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman. After some tough luck for Dane Dunning, a five-hit third inning erased a 2-0 deficit. Overall, Dunning's start has some ups and downs. At times, he missed locations but battled through five innings (including a five-pitch fourth inning), allowing three runs, two walks, and four strikeouts. "I thought he pitched great," Rangers manager Chris Woodward told Jared Sandler on 105.3 the Fan. "I love the way he worked the changeup there. He has the sinker and the slider but [Dane] used that changeup effectively and got those guys off balance."
Meantime, Blue Jays pinch hitter Santiago Espinal drove in the go-ahead run in the sixth and drove in a run on Friday to put Toronto up 8-7. For the Texas offense, they were patient early against Gausman, then, on the third, ramped up their aggressiveness. Gausman threw twenty-three pitches in the third, facing eight hitters, while throwing twenty-four pitches to five hitters in the first. "In the beginning, I thought we did a decent job against Gausman," Woodward said. However, the Rangers' offense sputtered once the Blue Jays grabbed the lead, especially in the seventh and eighth innings. Texas went down on fifteen total pitches combined in the two innings. "[There] were kind of empty outs in that seventh and eighth inning. I thought we could have been a little better."
The bullpen had a better overall showing from Friday. Spencer Patton recorded four outs on one hit, while Matt Bush's 2022 debut was a successful scoreless eighth inning. Brett Martin allowed the go-ahead double to Espinal with two outs, increasing the Blue Jays' total to seven runs in 2022 with two outs. Nathaniel Lowe and Corey Seager had multi-hit games again from the offensive side, with seven of the nine guys in the starting lineup collecting hits. The big blow in the third inning was the Marcus Semien double, collecting his first hit as a Texas Ranger.
The other story was Andy Ibáñez's defense. It started slow with two tough plays, but Ibáñez recovered and had a great defensive day overall. I talked to Woodward in Spring Training about Andy's defense. "He's put a ton of work in," Woodward said. "I know last year in Spring Training he didn't show well in third, but the work this guy put in. He turned himself into a really good second baseman for us, then when he did get the chance to play third base for us. The throws are a lot better [and] cleaner. He's a really good diver. Every time he dives, he catches it." The Rangers try to avoid the sweep tomorrow at 1:37 Eastern / 12:37 Central.
Postgame Notes
Dane Dunning had an ERA of 7.92 in the first inning last season. In his first start of 2022, Dane allows two runs. The Andy Ibáñez bobble remained a base hit for George Springer, tagging Dunning with an earned run.
The Rangers have dropped eight of their last nine to the Blue Jays as the road team. They've been outscored 71-24 in those nine games.
Texas dropped the first two games of the season for the first time since 2017 when the Cleveland Guardians (Indians at the time) swept the Rangers in Arlington.
Nathaniel Lowe's four hits in 2022 have all come to the opposite field. Last season he led the Major Leagues in opposite-field hits with 65.
The Rangers had one hit from the sixth inning or later in back-to-back games. It was the Adolis García home run on Friday, and on Saturday, it was an Andy Ibáñez single.
In the last four appearances for Matt Bush, three of them have come against the Toronto Blue Jays. A name that Blue Jays fans remember from half a decade ago.
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