Rangers Couldn't Deliver Fireworks in Shutout Loss
Article excerpt
Detroit Tigers starter Jack Flaherty stifled a stagnant Texas Rangers offense on Independence Day, limiting the American League contender to three hits as they squandered a solid start and lost ground in the standings.
The Texas Rangers mustered up just three hits in a 3-0 loss to the Detroit Tigers.
The Tigers improved to 39-50 while the Rangers fell to 45-44. While they remain a game over .500, there's no reason for this team to be losing to a squad that is poised to be sellers at the trade deadline.
Detroit starter Jack Flaherty picked up just his second win of the year at the expense of the Rangers. The 30-year-old pitched 5.2 scoreless innings, allowing the Rangers' lone three hits in the process. He struck out five batters, marking the only five strikeouts of the game for the Tigers pitching staff.
Cal Quantrill put in five solid innings of work, but all three runs in this game were allowed in the first two innings. Things didn't go according to plan on the Fourth of July as Quantrill fell to 3-1 thanks to a pair of runs scoring in the first and one more coming across in the second.
Rangers Fall 3-0 in a Game That Had Nine Combined Hits
Texas committed the game's lone error, but the biggest low of this game was the Rangers offense. On a night where fireworks are so prevalent, there were no signs of life in this one for a Rangers team that continues to fight in the American League West.
The Rangers are currently half a game back, but they've now dropped two of their last three and aren't necessarily trending in the right direction after such a strong month of June.
By the end of this game, Joe Pederson, Josh Jung, and Evan Carter provided the team with their lone three hits.
In total, four of the Rangers' five strikeouts came from the top four batters in their lineup. Only one walk was drawn, and that came from Carter who was the Lone Ranger to reach base twice on Independence Day.
Tough Draw for Quantrill
Overall, this was a solid outing from the Rangers pitching staff. Quantrill didn't necessarily take his team out of the game, but the three-run deficit he put them in early was somehow far too much to overcome.
After Quantrill was pulled after five innings, Tyler Alexander pitched a flawless sixth, one that saw him strike out a pair in just 12 pitches. Benjamin Peoples ate the next two innings, and then Chris Martin kept the team alive for a ninth-inning rally, one that ultimately never came to fruition.
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