Astros Snap Rangers Quality Start Streak
For Texas Rangers starter Taylor Hearn, the next step is building some efficiency in his pitch count.
Hearn started for the Rangers on Sunday against the Houston Astros and wasn’t able to get out of the fifth inning for the second straight start. When he left the game the Rangers were down 3-1 and he was in line for the loss.
Hearn had solid stuff, but his biggest issue was his pitch count. He ended up throwing 89 pitches, 57 of which were strikes. He had several at-bats where Astros fouled off numerous pitches, which extended innings.
Raymond Carlin III-USA TODAY Sports
Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Ben Ludeman / Courtesy of the Texas Rangers
Hearn left having thrown 4 2/3 innings, giving up six hits and four runs, all earned. He struck out two and walked two.
Those numbers largely mimic what Hearn did in his last start on Tuesday against the Los Angeles Angels, which turned out to be a 10-5 win for the Rangers. He threw just four innings, giving up five hits, three earned runs, and three walks while striking out two. He threw 78 pitches, 48 of which were strikes. He exited that game after giving up a leadoff single to Mike Trout in the fifth.
That was the first time Hearn wasn’t able to pitch through the fifth since his start on April 21 against Seattle, when he gave up five runs in three innings.
Hearn’s performance also snapped a four-game streak for the Rangers of quality starts, dating back to the six innings Dane Dunning posted against the Angels on Wednesday.
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
Astros infielder Jose Altuve started the game with a leadoff home run to give Houston a 1-0 lead, an auspicious beginning to Hearn’s 20th start of his Major League career.
Hearn settled down after that, getting out of a couple of jams in the process. But he gave up another run in the third, the result of an Alex Bregman double that caromed off the wall and off a ball boy, which allowed Altuve to score.
Hearn gave up two more runs in the fifth and was pulled after giving up a Yordan Alvarez double that scored Bregman to make it 3-1 Astros. Brett Martin took Hearn’s place and allowed the last baserunner Hearn was responsible for, Alvarez, to score on a Yuri Gurriel double.
Hearn’s earned run average rose to 5.77 after his exit. Dunning will start for the Rangers on Tuesday as their road trip continues in Anaheim against the Los Angeles Angels.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard
Catch up with Inside the Rangers on Facebook and Twitter.
