Injured Texas Rangers Slugger Hits Home Run In Rehab Game
Texas Rangers first baseman Nathaniel Lowe finally hit a home run as he wrapped up a weekend rehab assignment with Double-A Frisco.
Injured Texas Rangers first baseman Nathaniel Lowe hit a home run in the third game of his rehab assignment with Double-A Frisco on Sunday.
Lowe hit a two-run home run in the fifth inning, as he finished the game with his best hitting line since he started his rehab on Friday. Lowe was 1-for-3 with 3 RBI, a walk and a run scored.
Lowe and the RoughRiders were hosting the Corpus Christi Hooks, which is the Double-A affiliate of the Houston Astros.
That allowed Lowe to get some cuts against one of the best pitchers in baseball, as Justin Verlander was on his own injury rehab assignment for the Astros on Saturday night.
Verlander got the better of Lowe in two of the three at-bats. Lowe grounded out to second base in the first inning and lined out in the fourth inning.
In between, Lowe drew a walk from Verlander that was part of a six-run third inning for the RoughRiders, as they built an early 6-0 lead.
It was the first time the pair faced each other since Lowe hit a home run off Verlander in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series.
The RoughRiders, well, roughed up Verlander. He pitched four innings, giving up seven hits, six runs (five earned) and one walk. He struck out three.
As for Lowe, he played his first game in the field on Saturday, manning first base for five innings before he was removed from the game. He went 0-for-2 with a walk and scored a run.
In his first rehab game on Friday, Lowe was the designated hitter and went 0-for-4 with a run scored.
Lowe suffered a right oblique injury while swinging during spring training in early March. His recovery has been similar to center fielder Leody Taveras, who suffered a similar injury early in spring training last season and didn’t return until the second week of the season.
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