Rangers Shutout Rockies to Kick Off New Era in Globe Life Field
ARLINGTON, Texas — The strength of the 2020 Texas Rangers is supposed to be the revamped pitching staff.
Consider game number one a success.
The Rangers shutout the Colorado Rockies and won the first official game ever played in Globe Life Field by a score of 1-0. Rangers starter Lance Lynn was a bit wild walking four batters, but only allowed two hits and struck out nine hitters over six scoreless innings.
After Lynn gave up a one-out double in the fifth inning, Chris Woodward got someone warming up in the bullpen. Lynn didn't take too kindly to that.
"Yeah, I think they had someone warming up in the fifth, so that upset me," Lynn said. "And then I went back out for the sixth, and they didn't have to come in. So just trying to piss Woody off was what I was trying to do."
Rockies' starter Germán Marquez also pitched quite well. The Rangers were held hitless through the first 5 1/3 innings, but Danny Santana spoiled Márquez's gem with a double to left-center field—the first Rangers hit in Globe Life Field. Just two batters later, Rougned Odor drove in Santana for the first run in the ballpark's history with a double to right-center field.
"It feels great. We won the game," Odor said. "Santana hit that double, and then I hit behind him and I put good contact on that ball, and I got that double too. It feels great, we won the game. Our pitchers did a really good job, and that's why we won the game."
The Rangers bullpen preserved the fragile one-run lead for three innings. However, that didn't come with it's close calls. After Colorado's David Dahl led off the eighth inning with a single, Trevor Story nearly gave the Rockies a 2-1 lead with a long fly ball that was caught just in front of the 410' sign in left-center field. That might have been a home run at the old ballpark.
José Leclerc started the ninth inning with six straight balls, looking very erratic. After Robinson Chirinos came out to calm down the young closer, Leclerc retired the next three batters, striking out two of them. Chirinos also helped steal a couple strikes with some quality pitch-framing. Needless to say, his impact was felt late in the game.
"Robbie’s calming influence back there is something I had to witness from the opposing bench last year," Woodward said. "There’s a lot of trust there with the pitching staff, especially two young Latin arms that come in there, that we need to be good for us to have a chance. They both got in a little bit of trouble and he was able to kind of get them out of it and work them through it. It’s huge for us to have Robbie back there in those moments.”
Chirinos also helped calm down his starter Lance Lynn, who was admittedly very uncomfortable in the first few innings.
"Mechanically it just wasn't right early on," Lynn said. "To be honest with you, I was excited to play the game. I was jacked up to play baseball. When you sit at home for three months, and you don't know if you're going to play, and there's a global pandemic going on, and you get to go back and do your job and play a game for a living, and fans get to watch? You get excited.
"So, I was jacked up. I wanted to win. Wanted to do anything I could to help the team. It took me a few innings to settle down, and then I was ready to go. But we won the game, and that's what it's all about."
Lynn's nine strikeouts ties the club record for the most strikeouts by a Rangers starting pitcher on Opening Day. Nolan Ryan did it in 1991, as did Colby Lewis in 2012, and Matt Harrison as well in 2013.
The Rangers take on the Rockies for the second game of the opening series on Saturday at Globe Life Field. First pitch is scheduled for 3:05 p.m. CST.
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