Dane Dunning Ends Dubious Texas Rangers Pitching Streak

The Texas Rangers didn't just win a game on Monday, their starting pitcher Dane Dunning won one too, and that means something in franchise history.

It wasn’t just a 10-4 victory for the Texas Rangers over the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday night. It was a victory for starting pitcher Dane Dunning.

That meant something for the Rangers. It meant the Rangers snapped their franchise record of 22 straight games without a win by a starter.

Dunning went six-plus innings, gave up three runs (two coming in the second) and struck out seven. He is 10-6 on the season.

“It’s been a while since we got a win from a starter, so it’s good to get that tonight,” manager Bruce Bochy said of Dunning’s performance. “Got us deep in the game. Here he was pitching in the seventh inning. Second inning, he got a little wobbly there, but he did a good job to limit the damage.”

Before Dunning’s victory on Monday, the last Rangers starter to claim a win was left-hander Jordan Montgomery on Aug. 15 against the Los Angeles Angels.

What has happened since then? A lot.

After that win, the Rangers had a 3.5-game lead over the field in the American League West. The Rangers were 24 games over .500 and had won 12 of their first 14 games of the month, which included an eight-game winning streak.

That coincided with acquiring three pitchers at the trade deadline — Montgomery, Max Scherzer and reliever Chris Stratton.

After that, the Rangers went into a protracted slump. Between Aug. 15 and Friday, Texas had an eight-game losing streak and went 4-16 overall.

Texas (79-64) has since won three straight and is back in Wild Card position. The Rangers jumped ahead of the Seattle Mariners (79-65) into third in the Wild Card chase, just a half-game behind second-place Toronto (80-64).

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You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.

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