Rangers Lose To Gallo And Yankees 4-3 In Opener

The bats woke up for three runs in the Bronx on Monday night, but pitching is still a question.

The Texas Rangers (55-94) lost to the New York Yankees (83-67) 4-3 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx on Monday night, as they saw the familiar face of former Ranger Joey Gallo for the first time since he was traded to the Yankees. 

The Rangers were able to manage seven hits on the night, matching the Yankees' production, but fell one run short. Texas fell behind early, with a Gary Sanchez home run in the second inning, and three runs in the third. 

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That third inning included an Aaron Judge single after D.J. LeMahieu walked and Anthony Rizzo singled, scoring LeMahieu. Giancarlo Stanton then hit a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Rizzo. After former Ranger Joey Gallo walked, Torres singled to right scoring Sanchez. 

The Rangers were down 4-0 after just three innings, all runs charged to Rangers starter A.J. Alexy who fell to 2-1 on the season.

The Rangers bounced back a bit in the fifth inning, as third baseman Charlie Culberson homered to 380-feet to left field. Center fielder Leody Taveras then hit a ground-rule double that bounced into the bullpen. 

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Shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa then doubled to right, scoring Taveras. After Andy Ibanez lined out to center, Kiner-Falefa moved to third base on a wild pitch by Yankees pitcher Chad Green. Adolis Garcia then scored Kiner-Falefa on a sacrifice fly to center.

That would be the extent of scoring for either team, as Texas could not come all the way back. 

A combination of Yankees bullpen pitchers Chad Green, Clay Holmes, Joely Rodriguez, and Aroldis Champman pitched 4.2 scoreless innings to give the Yankees the win.

Rangers pitchers Jharel Cotton, Brett Martin, and Spencer Patton held the Yankees in check after the third inning, combining to pitch 4.2 scoreless innings.

Former Ranger Joey Gallo, facing his former team for the first time, went 0-3 with a walk and a strikeout.

The Yankees, who are in the middle of an AL wild-card race, moved within a half-game of Toronto for the second AL wild card and with 11 games left is two back of Boston, the AL wild-card leader. The Yankees had lost 15 of 22 following a 13-game winning streak.

The Rangers were just 1-7 with runners in scoring position, as they missed multiple opportunities to tie the game. 

Green (8-7, 3.39) got the win for the Yankees, while Alexy (2-1, 5.00) is charged with the loss for the Rangers. Chapman (28 Saves, 3.51) secured the save for the Yankees.

The two teams meet again tomorrow at Yankee Stadium in game two of the three-game series, with Dane Dunning (5-8, 4.28) taking the mound for the Rangers vs Jordan Montgomery (5-6, 3.63) for the Yankees.  

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