Aroldis Chapman Impressive in Texas Rangers Debut, But Was It Too Brief?
ARLINGTON, Texas – Aroldis Chapman made his Texas Rangers debut and it couldn’t have come at a more appropriate time. But was it too brief?
Chapman, who the Rangers acquired in a trade with the Kansas City Royals on Friday, pitched a scoreless seventh in a tie game against the Houston Astros before giving way to Josh Sborz in the eighth.
The Astros made manager Bruce Bochy and the Rangers pay. Two singles and a walk loaded the bases with two outs before Chas McCormick cleared them with a stand-up triple off the right-field wall to lead the Astros to a 5-3 win Sunday at Globe Life Field.
McCormick's three-run triple gave Houston a 4-1 lead.
Nathaniel Lowe's two-run homer in the eighth pulled the Rangers to within 4-3 but Jose Altuve's homer off the left-field foul pole provided some insurance in the ninth.
The Rangers were retired in order in the ninth. The four-game finale is at 1:05 p.m. Monday.
Chapman threw 16 pitches in a scoreless seventh. He struck out McCormick and Martin Maldonado before Altuve singled up the middle. Chapman forced a groundout to second to end the inning and preserve the tie.
All of the variables that made Chapman a coveted addition to the Rangers bullpen were on display. He got McCormick swinging on a 90-mph slider. Maldonado struck out on a 102-mph sinker. Even Altuve’s single was a dribbler nearly fielded by Chapman.
"He threw the ball well. I think you saw what he is, big arm, tough competitor," Bochy said. "His debut, I thought, went really well."
But Sborz took over in the eighth and was quickly in trouble. With one out, Jose Abreu reached on an infield single that Josh Jung struggled to field cleanly behind the mound. Mauricio Dubon singled before Sborz loaded the bases with a two-out walk to Corey Julks. Chaz McCormick cleared the bases with a stand-up triple off the right-field wall that caromed past Adolis Garcia, allowing the extra bases.
The Rangers scored a run in the first after Corey Seager singled and Nathaniel Lowe doubled. Seager scored on a foul out down the first-base line that required Jose Abreu to make an over-the-shoulder sliding catch with his back to home plate. Seager had plenty of time to race home for the 1-0 lead.
Andrew Heaney held the Astros scoreless on three hits over five innings. He was lifted at 85 pitches for Grant Anderson, who started the sixth. The Astros tied it at 1-1 on Mauricio Dubon’s RBI double to the right-field corner. Anderson struck out Yainer Diaz and got Corey Julks to fly out to center to strand two runners and preserve the tie.
Bochy said he didn't consider having Heaney start the sixth. The last time Heaney went at least six full innings was May 27.
"No, he was in the area where we wanted to get him," Bochy said. "He did his job. That was kind of the plan and he did a great job."
Bochy felt the same about Sborz replacing Chapman.
"We had the right guy out there in the eighth inning. You know how solid he’s been," he said.
Sborz (4-3) took the loss and tied his season-high with three runs allowed.
Astros starter Shawn Dubin allowed a run on three hits in four innings.
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