Thoughts of a 7-4 Rangers win

Rangers 7, Angels 4

• Another series wins along the way. Look at this.
• I didn’t feel that at first in this game. Mike Trout managed to put the ugly heavenly spirits in Orange County in the first half, the crime did nothing to inspire confidence at first and he felt like one of those gentle, lightless losses on the West Coast, where it never feels like the Rangers participated, despite the fact that they never dropped much, and 15 minutes after the final pitch you don’t remember any special tracks or events from the competition.
• Although, usually, these games seem to happen especially in Oakland.
• Foltynewicz entered today with an ERA of 5.63 in 16 IPs in 3 games, after giving up 5 rounds (including 2 rounds at home) for the last time in front of Baltimore. A quick look at the score at the box would indicate that he launched well today – he recorded a quality start, allowing 3 runs in 6 IPs, he didn’t go on anyone, he hit six, he gave up only 7 shots. And he only needed 89 pitches to go to 6 innings – he could have made another half, maybe two, if asked.
• But. The three races were offered by three solo home races from Foltynewicz. Now, they were run at home by legitimate threats of power – along with Trout, the other two were hit by Justin Upton and Shohei Ohtani – but there were also heavy runs at home. Justin Upton’s home run dropped the bat at 116.5 mph and earned the coveted “1,000” xBA on Statcast. Mike Trout was 107.4 mph. Shohei Ohtani was 107.2. Foltynewicz today gave up another 3 electric vehicles over 100 mph, plus an 99.9 mph EV flight to Scott Schebler, who I’m not even sure is a real person.
• Foltynewicz’s speed, which disappeared in 2020 and caused him to give up, directly and allowed him to become a free agent at the end of the season, is back – if he doesn’t throw as hard as he did a few years ago. , is at least close. I’m not sure if the movement on his pitches is the same as then. But there seems to be a problem with its location this year. Here’s Folty’s pitch map for today’s game:

At first glance, to my untrained eye, it seems to leave too many tones in the heart of the board.

• Control doesn’t seem to be an issue right now – in 22 innings in 2021, he went 7 strokes and hit 22. But he also allowed 8 runs at home and that’s … bad. Today, he has been tied for second place in the major allowed rankings (equal to, among others, Jordan Lyles), following Marco Gonzalez, who allowed 6. He is on pace to allow 64 rounds at home this season. To put this in context, Bert Blyleven holds the single season record for most allowed rounds, with 50 in 1986. He is followed by Jose Lima, with 48 in 2000.
• So Foltynewicz’s problem is command. He seems to give up hard contact and many runs from home, because he leaves the ground where they can be crushed.
• It is also worth noting that, coming today, he allowed a 551 OPS for hitters in their first plate appearance, a 1096 OPS for hitters in their second plate appearance and a 986 OPS for hitters in their third plate appearance. the game. First by order today, he withdrew 7 of 9 beats, 3 by hit, and allowed one and one home. After that, he withdrew 10 of 15 strokes, 3 by shot, allowing two singles and two runs at home.
• So maybe Foltynewicz would be better suited for a rear end of a tandem boot arrangement. Who knows.
• Anyway. Chris Woodward called left John King for the seventh, with the Rangers down 3-1. After getting in touch with Jose Iglesias, King had someone named Anthony Bemboom – who also sounds invented – hit a ball on the ground toward the right center that Nick Solak played before before turning and throwing. on the first. The call was that Bemboom came out, but in live action it seemed clearly safe and that determined the resumption. Luis Rengifo – who, you remember, would be in the Dodgers right now if Arte Moreno didn’t go crazy because the trade he wanted to do couldn’t be done right NOW because of Brusdar Graterol’s doctors throwing a key monkey in the Mookie Betts Agreement, which led to a reduction in trade by the Arts – was eliminated for the second out, but David Fletcher then hit a weak grounder that he managed to defeat for a hit on the field because it was so pathetic and slow.
• Then Shohei Ohtani was hit, loading the bases.
• And so I left the room at that moment. I’ve seen this movie before. I know how the games of the day on the West Coast work. Nothing happens too much, it’s a close game late, and then there’s a weak shot or two, maybe a mistake, a walk in which the referee squeezes the pitcher on a 2-2 field that should have hit three or a ball that step up the baton sleeve, and then there’s a double compensation base or something and suddenly it’s an explosion and you feel bad because you have hope in the first place.
• I wasn’t going to deal with this shit today. I walked into the other room and tried to think of something other than baseball for a few minutes.
• When I returned, the Rangers hit and King came out of the half. I don’t know how, because, you know, I went into the other room and I wasn’t looking. But I would like to believe that he just miraculously saved the half somehow.
• Anyway. I learned a lesson about how fast the waves can flow, no matter how many minutes it has been since King hit Ohtani with a pitch of up to five beats in the top eight. The Angels, who failed on a golden opportunity to throw the game wide open, had to feel good because they were leading 3-1 and, hey, it’s the Rangers offensive we’re talking about. The Angels only had to limit the Rangers to one race or less in the last two innings and win. It can’t be hard, can it?
• Isiah Kiner-Falefa left the field to lead the half, leaving only five outs. Then Nick Solak walked, causing a pitching change. I think the guy they brought to play was either in Wayne’s World or he was the monster in the Halloween movies. Whoever it was, he walked Joey Gallo, bringing Adolis Garcia to the set, while he started.
• Look, I admit – I’ve been skeptical of Adolis Garcia all spring. Honestly, I’m still a skeptic of Adolis Garcia. I have my doubts that he will be able to rely enough or contact enough to contribute to the major league, even in a platoon role. Yes, it has immense power, a huge arm and a certain speed, but I’m not sure it can break an OBP .260. But he will have a chance to prove me wrong.
• Just as he did today, when he smashed a fast ball from the mid-1990s from Dieter of the Sprockets to the deep center field, he overturned his bat and celebrated as he rounded the bases in a round of 3 , continued the home round to make a 4-3 game. If Garcia continues to do that, he will prove me very wrong.
• Nate Lowe immediately followed Garcia’s run with his own bomb, making it 5-3. Of course, Lowe started at that hot start, then collapsed a bit, which led to some occasions about him being Mitch Moreland 2.0. Lowe is now at .254 / .346 / .493 in the year I think we would all be happy with.
• No more scoring in the 8th, but the Rangers put a few more on the board in the 9th. Leody Taveras drew one walk – his second walk of the game, although he was unsuccessful – and finished third on a single Isiah Kiner-Falefa, IKF advancing to second place on the throw. Nick Solak and Joey Gallo repeated their exploits from the previous half, because they each drew a walk, and Gallo was an RBI walk, so hahaha to all of you who complain about Gallo, because the walks don’t lead home. Adolis came with the bases loaded and we were all amplified, but came out on a 2-0 field for the second out. However, things worked well, as a Junior Guerra balloon brought IKF home for the seventh and final round. Nate Lowe then smoked a line unit that was 103.0 bats, but was scored, ending the half.
• The only Ranger to run before the 8th round Adolis bomb came in the fourth, on a Gallo ride, a Lowe ride, a Charlie Culberson single and a Jonah Heim sack bite. Joey Gallo certainly went a long way today.
• Today there were 3 walks and 2 Ks for Gallo, so he had 5 appearances on the plateau, scored two runs, had an RBI and never put a ball in play. This is an achievement.
• Joely Rodriguez started off with a 1-2-3 half, if you’re curious. Ian Kennedy pitched the ninth, gave up a solo home, but, you know, he had a four-run lead, so who cares.
• Mike Foltynewicz was the heaviest Ranger pitcher today, at 95.4 mph, and had in all four rafts and two four seamers who had at least 95.0 mph. John King had a 94.7 mph diver and again I’m very puzzled by this because he was the guy who threw his last season at 80 mph at the University of Houston, but whether in 2021 the Rapsodos sunscreen and Bullfrog turns his boys into Pitcherbot 9000s. Joely Rodriguez exceeded the speed of 94.3 mph and John King at 94.1 mph.
• Adolis Garcia’s home run dropped the bat to 104.5 mph and he had a 101.2 mph single. Nate Lowe’s home race was 100.5 mph, which was lower than the ninth inning of 103.0 mph, which I mentioned earlier. Nick Solak had a flight of 101.7 mph, Jonah Heim’s sacrificial flight was 101.1 and no other Ranger had even an EV of 95 mph.
• The Rangers are now 9-10 this season and are out tomorrow before starting a three-set game set in Chicago against the White Sox. Tony LaRussa runs ChiSox, which means the Rangers will face a team run by LaRussa for the first time since … God, I don’t remember. Does anyone know when this was?