After losing to the Houston Astros two games to one in the rivalry series, the Texas Rangers continued the ten-game road trip in Detroit, Michigan, with a four-game series against the Detroit Tigers. Here’s my recap of the Rangers at Tigers series.
Monday, April 15
The Rangers shut out the Tigers 1-0 in the series opener at Comerica Park. Texas improved to 9-8, while Detroit fell to 9-7. Rangers pitcher Michael Lorenzen pitched five innings and gave up three hits, five walks, and four strikeouts in his debut as a Texas Ranger. Meanwhile, Tigers pitcher Reese Olson pitched 6 1/3 and gave up six hits, one earned run, one walk, and eight strikeouts.
After four scoreless innings, Texas got on the board. Marcus Semien grounded into a force out from Javier Baez to Colt Keith. Jonah Heim scored for a 1-0 lead in the top of the fifth inning. Jared Walsh went to third base, Leody Taveras was out at second base, and Semien went to first base with one out.
The Tigers didn’t respond with a game-tying run. The Rangers defeated the Tigers 1-0 after nine innings. For Texas, Kirby Yates pitched one inning. And, for Detroit, Javier Baez went 1-for-4.
Tuesday, April 16
The Rangers dropped a 4-2 decision to the Tigers in the second game at Comerica Park. Texas fell to 9-9, while Detroit improved to 10-7. On the bright side, Rangers manager Bruce Bochy celebrated his 69th birthday, while Rangers right-handed pitcher Jon Gray had a good outing on the mound.
Rangers pitcher Jon Gray pitched six innings and gave up three hits, one earned run, three walks, and seven strikeouts. Meanwhile, Tigers pitcher Casey Mize pitched six innings and gave up five hits, two earned runs, and six strikeouts. After two scoreless innings, Detroit got on the board. Zach McKinstry singled on a ground ball to Evan Carter. Riley Greene scored for a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning. McKinstry went to third base on a fielding error by Carter.
The Rangers responded to take a two-run lead. Marcus Semien singled on a ground ball to Parker Meadows. Ezequiel Duran scored to make it a 2-1 game in the top of the fifth inning. Leody Taveras went to second base. The Tigers scored a game-tying run to even the score. Kerry Carpenter doubled on a fly ball to Wyatt Langford. Zach McKinstry scored to tie the game 2-2 in the bottom of the sixth inning.
The Tigers took a one-run lead. Gio Urshela singled on a ground ball to Evan Carter. Zach McKinstry scored to make it a 3-2 game in the bottom of the eighth inning. Matt Vierling went to third base. The Tigers capitalized on a wild pitch thrown by Jacob Latz. Matt Vierling scored to extend the Tigers’ lead to 4-2 in the bottom of the eighth inning. Gio Urshela went to second base.
The Rangers didn’t respond to tie the game. After nine Innings, they lost 4-2 to the Tigers. Adolis Garcia went 0-for-1 for Texas, and Jason Foley pitched 2/3 innings for Detroit.
Wednesday, April 17
The Rangers edged the Tigers 5-4 in the third game at Comerica Park. Texas improved to 10-9, while Detroit fell to 10-8. Rangers pitcher Dane Dunning pitched five innings and gave up three hits, one earned run, four walks, and five strikeouts. Meanwhile, Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal pitched 6 2/3 innings and gave up five hits, two earned runs, one walk, and six strikeouts.
The Rangers quickly got on the board. Adolis Garcia was out on a sacrifice fly to Parker Meadows. Marcus Semien scored for a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning with one out. The Tigers tied the game at one apiece. Kerry Carpenter homered on a fly ball to right field to tie the game 1-1 in the bottom of the second inning.
The Rangers took a one-run lead. After the umpire reviewed the play for a home run, the call on the field was upheld. Adolis Garcia doubled on a fly ball to Parker Meadows. Marcus Semien scored for a 2-1 lead in the top of the sixth inning. Corey Seager went to third base. The Rangers added two runs. Jonah Heim singled on a line drive to Parker Meadows. Corey Seager and Adolis Garcia scored to make it a 4-1 game in the top of the sixth inning.
The Tigers cut the Rangers’ lead in half. Colt Keith reached on a throwing error by Corey Seager. Spencer Torkelson scored to pull the Tigers within two, 4-2, in the bottom of the sixth inning. Colt Keith went to second base. The Tigers made it a one-run game. Parker Meadows homered on a fly ball to right-center field to cut the Rangers’ lead to 4-3 in the bottom of the seventh inning.
The Tigers tied the game at four apiece. Javier Baez singled on a line drive to Leody Taveras. Matt Vierling scored to tie the game 4-4 in the bottom of the eighth inning. The Rangers took the lead for good. Josh Smith doubled on a line drive to Parker Meadows. Ezequiel Duran scored for a 5-4 lead. Evan Carter went to third base.
The Rangers defeated the Tigers 5-4 after nine innings. Kirby Yates pitched 1 2/3 innings for Texas and gave up four strikeouts. And, for Detroit, Kerry Carpenter went 1-for-5 with one home run, three strikeouts, and one RBI.
Thursday, April 18
The Rangers edged the Tigers 9-7 in the series finale at Comerica Park. Texas improved to 11-9, while Detroit fell to 10-9. With the win, Texas won the series three games to one. Rangers rookie pitcher Jack Leiter pitched 3 2/3 innings and gave up eight hits, seven earned runs, three walks, and three strikeouts in his MLB debut. Meanwhile, Tigers veteran pitcher Kenta Maeda pitched 2 2/3 innings and gave up seven hits, five earned runs, two walks, and two strikeouts.
The Rangers wasted little time to open the scoring. Marcus Semien homered on a fly ball to left-center field for a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. The Rangers took a four-run lead in the top of the second inning. Wyatt Langford doubled on a line drive to Riley Greene. Josh Smith scored for a 2-0 lead. Jonah Heim homered on a line drive to right field. Langford scored to make it a 4-0 game.
The Tigers tied the game at four apiece in the bottom of the second inning. Javier Baez doubled on a sharp line drive to Evan Carter. Colt Keith scored to cut the Rangers’ lead to 4-1. Gio Urshela went to third base. Carson Kelly grounded out for Marcus Semien to Ezequiel Duran. Urshela scored to cut the Rangers’ lead in half, 4-2. Baez went to third base with one out. Riley Greene tripled on a sharp line drive to Leody Taveras. Baez scored to pull the Tigers within one, 4-3. Mark Canha singled on a sharp line drive to Evan Carter. Green scored to tie the game 4-4.
The Rangers regained the lead in the top of the third inning. Adolis Garcia homered on a fly ball to left-center field for a 5-4 lead. Texas challenged a play at first base, but the call on the field was overturned. Ezequiel Duran reached on a fielder’s choice, fielded by Colt Keith. Wyatt Langford scored to extend the Rangers’ lead to 6-4. Jonah Heim went to second base. Keith committed a fielding error.
The Rangers added a run in the top of the fourth inning. Evan Carter was out on a sacrifice fly to Matt Vierling. Marcus Semie scored to expand the Rangers’ lead to 7-4 with two outs. But the Tigers again tied the game in the bottom of the fourth inning. Kerry Carpenter tripled on a sharp fly ball to Leody Taveras. Riley Greene and Mark Canha scored to cut the Rangers’ lead to 7-6. Spencer Torkelson doubled on a sharp line drive to Taveras. Carpenter scored to tie the game 7-7.
The Rangers regained the lead in the top of the eighth inning. Corey Seager reached on a ground ball to Spencer Torkelson. Leody Taveras scored to put the Rangers up 8-7. Marcus Semien went to second base. The Rangers added to the lead in the top of the ninth inning. Leody Taveras singled on a line drive to Riley Greene. Josh Smith scored to give the Rangers a 9-7 lead. Ezequiel Duran went to second base.
The Rangers beat the Tigers 9-7 after nine innings. Kirby Yates pitched 1 2/3 innings for Texas and gave up one strikeout. And, for Detroit, Javier Baez went 2-for-5 with two doubles, one RBI, and one home run.
Up Next
The Rangers will wrap up the road trip with a three-game series against the Atlanta Braves in Atlanta, Georgia, starting on Friday, April 19 at 6:20 p.m. Central.
