August 1, 2022 - Game 102
W - Spenser Watkins (4-1)
L - Jon Gray (7-6)
S- Keegan Akin (2)
HR: TEX: Seager (24), Solak (3); BAL: Mullins (9)
Time of Game: 2:55
Game Recap
The Rangers came back home on Monday to start a seven-game home stand. It also created a stretch with seventeen straight in the state of Texas with three games at Houston. To begin the period, Texas welcomed the Baltimore Orioles, who traded away Trey Mancini before the game. In addition, the Orioles came off a three-game sweep in early July against the Rangers with all three-run victories. The Rangers also got Corey Seager back after missing the past three games though the offense held their own in the three games of absence for Seager. "I think it's more of the pitching staff[s]," Rangers manager Chris Woodward told me when I asked if it's the Mariners and Angels pitching staff comparisons or if guys get more motivated when their best player isn't in the lineup. "I don't think without Corey in there; we'd might score ten. Some guys tend to think about that as an offensive unit, and your best player isn't in there. I think it's a lot of times a coincidence. You see when a guy [is] out for the long term, it hurts you.
One minute into the game, Cedric Mullins scraped a fly ball that squeaked fair for a solo home run. Baltimore had two more, but the Orioles couldn't bring home any more runs in the first inning. In the second inning, the Orioles loaded the bases with one out. Matt Lucero, the Rangers trainer, came out, and Jon Gray left the game. The Rangers are calling it left-side discomfort for Jon Gray. Baltimore scored three times to take a 4-0 lead after an inning and a half. The Orioles added two more runs on RBI doubles in the fourth inning by Adley Rutschman and Ryan Mountcastle and extended to a 6-0 lead.
The Rangers cracked the scoreboard in the sixth inning on a typical Corey Seager home run. The shot came off the bat at ninety-nine miles per hour, going over four hundred feet. In the seventh inning, the Orioles got a run back on a Jorge Mateo double scoring Ryan McKenna. In the eighth, Nick Solak launched a pinch hit home run to left field. It was Solak's first home run since April 21st in Seattle.
Jon Gray looked off initially, which meant something wasn't quite right from the first pitch. The velocity was slightly lower than his last start against the Mariners, but nothing extremely alarming. Gray recorded four outs and allowed four hits, four runs (three earned), a walk, a hit batter, and three strikeouts. Gray threw forty-eight pitches on Monday. "At first I thought it was a cramp and stretch out a little bit but with each pitch I kept feeling it and one of them it hurt pretty bad, I knew something wasn't right," Jon Gray said. "Gray said he started feeling the side pain in the second inning. Chris Woodward says he anticipates possibly missing one start. "I'll find a way to make sure something like this doesn't happen again, it's the first time dealing with this."
José Leclerc came in to finish the second inning and pitch the third. Leclerc gave up two RBI singles in the second and retired the next four hitters he faced. Garrett Richards came in for cleanup work and threw three innings. He allowed two runs in the fourth inning, a hit in the fifth and sixth, but didn't yield a run in those two frames. Richards struck out two and walked one. Brett Martin threw two innings and allowed one run. The two hits Martin allowed came on back-to-back at-bats resulting in the run. Brett didn't walk a batter and struck out one.
Towards the end of the game, the Rangers announced that they traded Matt Bush to the Milwaukee Brewers for infielder Mark Mathias and left-handed pitcher Antoine Kelly. "This was the deal that made the most sense for us," Jon Daniels said. "Milwaukee had been looking for bullpen help [and] we felt like we had depth at Triple-A and a guys we'd like to see." According to the Rangers, Kelly will start at Double-A Frisco and Mathias will begin at Triple-A Round Rock once they reach Texas.
"I was a little shocked and wasn't expecting it. It's a bittersweet moment," Matt Bush said. "It's hard to say goodbye here and this has been home for me for quite a while and my family. I've been treated so well here." In thirty-six plus innings, Bush had a 2.95 ERA with a 1.009 WHIP and a save. "Matt has been through a lot in this organization [and] I'm really proud of him in what he's done in his life and the changes he's made," Chris Woodward said. "It broke me heart to see him get hurt and fights back. He's been through so much in his career."
Postgame Notes
Monday was Garrett Richards's first outing since July 24th at Oakland.
The Rangers haven't lost by five or more runs in regulation since May 18th at Detroit.
Texas has dropped eight of their last eleven against the Orioles and all four this season.
José Leclerc hadn't pitched in the second inning of a game since July 7th, 2019, when he was the opener for the club at Minnesota.
Orioles' rookie, Terrin Vavra, picked up his first MLB hit in the second inning.
The Rangers have lost five straight home games.
Corey Seager has extended his home hitting streak to twelve straight games.
Nick Solak hit his first career pinch hit home run. It's the fourth total Rangers pinch hit home run. The last came on May 11th against the Royals by Brad Miller.
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