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Rangers Young Arms Tested As Altuve, Astros Walk-Off In 10 Innings
More growing pains for a growing Texas Rangers team.
With closer Ian Kennedy on the Injured List and Joely Rodríguez unavailable, Rangers manager Chris Woodward went with a pair of young arms in two separate save situations in Tuesday night's 6-3 loss to the Houston Astros.
"We played a good game. We pitched a good game," Woodward said. "Kyle Gibson, Spencer Patton, Brett Martin [all pitched well]. Josh Sborz made one mistake. Demarcus Evans (D-Train) didn't help himself in that last inning, walking the leadoff guy on four pitches and falling behind [Jason] Castro."
Sborz took the ball in the ninth inning as the Rangers clung to a 2-1 lead. He retired the first two hitters he faced, then got Carlos Correa in a two-strike count. However, Correa pounced on a belt-high slider and tied the game with a solo home run to right field.
After the Rangers recaptured the lead in the 10th inning on an RBI single by Nate Lowe, Demarcus Evans came in seeking his first career save. However, he walked Myles Straw on four pitches, which put runners on first and second with nobody out (thanks to the extra innings rule).
Evans fired a borderline fastball to Jason Castro, but received little grace from home plate umpire Jerry Meals. Evans fell behind 3-0, but rallied back to a full count. Evans then fired a 92-mph fastball at the knees that should have been strike three, but Meals awarded first base to Castro, which loaded the bases with nobody out.
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Two pitches later, Evans hung a slider and Altuve made the Rangers rookie pay for it with a walk-off grand slam.
Chris Woodward didn't let his young reliever off the hook, but he made his disdain for the call known both on the field and in his postgame press conference.
"It is frustrating. A pitch like that changes the whole game. It was a strike," Woodward told the media after the game. "I hate to say it. I don't normally talk about umpires making bad calls, but the ball was in the strike zone. That ball has gotta be called a strike. Big situation, first and second with one out is totally different than bases loaded and nobody out.
"But D-Train knows he's gotta be better before that. You're not gonna get too many borderline calls if you're not in the strike zone for the first seven pitches."
While Woodward was not ejected for his objections to the call, it wasn't for lack of trying.
"He couldn't hear me because it was too loud," Woodward said. "If you would have heard what I was saying, I wouldn't have been in the game."
Chris Woodward was consistent in holding his offense accountable, stating that there were opportunities earlier in the game to score more runs and not put so much pressure on the pitching staff.
"We didn't have great at-bats in those situations," Woodward said. "You always hope those don't come back to bite you, but they did today. If we go into that ninth inning up three or four, it's totally different."
The Rangers collected only six hits on the night, with Joey Gallo driving in the Rangers' first two runs of the game. Isiah Kiner-Falefa's 11-game hitting streak was snapped, as he went 0-for-4, but did manage to reach base with a walk.
Chris Woodward did deliver some good news after Tuesday night's loss, announcing that closer Ian Kennedy is expected to be activated from the Injured List as the Rangers wrap up this short two-game series in Houston before traveling back to Arlington for a 10-game homestand that starts Friday night.
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