July 21, 2022 - Game 91
W - Jon Gray (7-4)
L - Pablo López (6-5)
S- None
HR: TEX: García (16)
Time of Game: 3:06
Rangers Cowboy Hat Winner: Adolis García (7th)
Game Recap
The All-Star break is behind us, and now the Rangers begin an eleven-game and four-city road trip Thursday. First, it was one of two makeup days (one of three games) in Miami against the Marlins. Before the game, the Rangers made a roster move by placing Brad Miller on the ten-day injured list with a neck strain. Ezequiel Duran got the call up to replace Miller on the roster. Next, Jon Gray took the mound to snap a four-game losing streak for the Rangers while offense met Pablo López for the Miami Marlins. "It was a great team win," Jonah Heim said. "We put up eight runs and Jon Gray came out [and] shut the door. Everything was working for him and he was making good pitches."
Jon Gray had to wiggle out of a first-inning jam with runners on the corners and two outs. He got Brian Anderson to line out to Ezequiel Duran to prevent damage. In the third inning, the Rangers strung together four hits, a hit by pitch, and three runs. First, Nathaniel Lowe laced a single to left-center field, followed by Jonah Heim grounding a single up the middle. Finally, Adolis García reached on an infield single on a diving stop by Brian Anderson to cap off the three-run third inning. In the fifth inning, García launched a homer to right-center field, scoring Heim and extending the Rangers' lead to 5-0. "I think those three days really helped [Adolis] to kind of reset his mind, body, [and] to see the life in his body come back." Woodward said. "Hopefully [he's] in store for a big second half."
Miami had a chance in the fifth with runners on the corners again, but Gray got All-Star Garrett Cooper on strikes. The Rangers got a leadoff double by Kole Calhoun, but Texas stranded Kole at second. The Rangers extended their lead in the eighth inning with Elier Hernandez's RBI single. Leody Taveras led off the inning with a single, moved to second on a wild pitch, and scored. In the ninth inning, Taveras delivered with a two-run double of his own, putting the Rangers up 8-0 with the nail in the coffin. For the first time in nearly a month, the Rangers had a win in which the game was well at hand late. There was little to no drama. "We got goals to make the layoffs this year and it starts right now," Jonah Heim said. "We needed to come out strong and try to dominate today and then move on to tomorrow."
Jon Gray had minor traffic but continued his surged dominance Thursday. Gray allowed four hits and two walks while striking out five in his six innings. "He was awesome," Rangers manager Chris Woodward said about Jon Gray's start. "Right from the beginning, he ran into a little trouble in teh first inning but the stuff was there. He was pumping some heaters [at] 97 and 98 with the wipeout slider. [It's] what we've seen up to this point."
Matt Moore ran into minor issues in the seventh. He walked a batter, threw a wild pitch, and allowed a hit but struck out two to prevent any scoring. Matt Bush came out and threw a scoreless eighth inning. Dennis Santana completed the game with a couple of baserunners, but Santana kept the Marlins off the scoreboard to complete the shutout.
Postgame Notes
Adolis García homered for the first time since his walk-off home run on June 25th against the Washington Nationals.
Leody Taveras extended his hitting streak to nine games.
Jon Gray struck out five on Thursday, which ties the lowest since June 7th against the Cleveland Guardians.
Gray threw back-to-back shutout starts for the first time in his career. (168 career starts).
Thursday was the third game the Rangers played at loanDepot Park. The club had a two-game series in August of 2014. It's the first meeting between the teams since 2017.
Kole Calhoun reached base for the first time in his last four starts. He had a 0 for 17 stretch entering Thursday and reached base twice (a double and a walk).
The Rangers won by eight or more runs for the first time in 2022. Their previous largest win was seven runs.
Rangers shut out a team for the sixth time this season.
Miami extended their scoring drought to thirty-four scoreless innings (the last run scored in the second inning Friday, 7/15 vs. Philadelphia).
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