Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Rangers Turn Up Power at Plate After All-Star Break
ARLINGTON, Texas — Texas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy knew his team needed the All-Star Break. The stretch leading into it — 30 games in 31 days — was the stretch of the season that concerned him.
He felt the team wore down just a bit. For those that didn’t have to go to Seattle to the All-Star Game, his instructions were to get away from baseball.
At least for one game, the break seemed to solve one problem that hounded the Rangers going into the All-Star Break — batting with runners in scoring position.
In the 12-4 victory over the Cleveland Guardians on Friday, the Rangers fell behind 4-0 after three innings and again missed chances to bring runners home. But, once the Rangers scored two runs in the fourth, the dam began to burst.
By the end of the night, the Rangers had four home runs, three of which came from their All-Stars — Corey Seager, Adolis García, and Jonah Heim.
They were 8-for-18 with runners in scoring position.
“That’s more like we’ve been this season, so it’s a good way to start the second half,” Bochy said.
The Rangers started the second half hitting an MLB-best .297 with runners in scoring position. But, during the stretch that concerned Bochy — a 32-game stretch that started on June 6 — the Rangers hit .220.
It was enough to put a dent in their offense and a dent in their lead in the American League West. Up by 6 1/2 games after a 4-2 win over the New York Yankees on June 23, the Rangers saw that lead shrink to two games over the Houston Astros.
After the Yankees win, the Rangers went 5-11 in their final 16 games before the break, including losing three out of four to the Astros.
Friday night was the kind of offense the Rangers got used to in the first two months of the season, where one bit hit led to another. Bochy calls it “contagious offense,” and it’s the kind of thing the Rangers had a hard time buying those last 16 games before the break.
The heart of the order led the way. Seager had his 500th career RBI and 150th career home run in the game. He delivered the game-tying double and a solo home run.
Nathaniel Lowe became the eighth Rangers hitter to collect at least 10 home runs this season. He went 4-for-4 and was a triple shy of the cycle. He also reached base on a walk.
He was part of a Rangers offense that helped them rally from a deficit after the sixth inning for just the second time this season. The Rangers scored 10 runs in their final three at-bats.
“We need to get better at scoring late, and we did that tonight,” Lowe said.
García gave the Rangers the go-ahead run on an RBI single in the seventh and later homered. Heim also hit a home run and drove in four runs.
Seager, Lowe, García, and Heim combined for 12 of the Rangers’ 17 hits and drove in 10 of the Rangers’ 12 runs.
For pitcher Jon Gray — who gave up two two-run homers to brothers Bo and Josh Naylor — it was like getting back to what made this team great in the first half.
“It’s so much fun,” Gray said. “There’s a threat at every spot, speed, and power. It seems like every guy is a threat. It’s really exciting.”
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
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