Rangers Hit 3 HR, But Lose 101st Game vs Indians

The Texas Rangers lost their 101st game on Friday night, the second-most since the franchise moved to Arlington in 1972.

Author:
Chris Halicke
Oct 1, 2021 11:49 PM EDT

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Texas Rangers have now lost the second-most amount of games since the club moved to Arlington in 1972. The good news is, with only two games left, they can't lose the most.

The Rangers dropped the series opener against the Cleveland Indians on Friday night by a score of 9-6, falling to 59-101 on the season. Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Nathaniel Lowe and Jose Trevino all went deep in the loss, but manager Chris Woodward was not satisfied with the performance, defining the game as "sloppy" afterward. Even so, he credited his team for fighting until the final out.

Starter Spencer Howard breezed through the first seven hitters of the ballgame, but couldn't make it out of the fourth inning. In 3 2/3 innings, Howard allowed eight runs (five earned) on five hits with three walks and two strikeouts.

Howard hasn't gotten the results he's wanted on the mound since being acquired by the Rangers at the trade deadline. However, he is pleased with the progress he's made in cleaning up his delivery. One of his biggest goals this winter will be making his mechanics "mindless" so he can focus on more important things while on the mound.

With the Pittsburgh Pirates defeating the Cincinnati Reds, Friday night's loss puts the Rangers in position to pick third overall in next summer's draft. The Rangers are currently one game worse than Pittsburgh with two games remaining. If the two clubs were to finish with the same record, Pittsburgh would have the higher pick next summer since they had a worse record in 2020.

What's Next

The Rangers (59-101) and Indians (79-81) continue their three-game series on Saturday night at Globe Life Field. Jordan Lyles (9-13, 5.31 ERA) will make his final start of the season for the Rangers. He'll face off against Cleveland right-hander Tristan McKenzie (5-8, 4.81 ERA).