ARLINGTON — Dane Dunning had just been blown up for nine runs by the Houston Astros in the middle game of the lowest point in the Texas Rangers season.
It was Sept. 5 and the Astros homered three times against Dunning, who fell on the sword after starter Nathan Eovaldi left with an injury in the second inning.
In the past, Dunning, 29, may have stewed over the performance in the clubhouse.
"Usually [after] those games, I might sit in the locker room, be in the dumps a little bit," said Dunning, who earned Rangers' Pitcher of the Year after going 12-7 with a 3.70 ERA. "Might drink a beverage to just, you know, to clear the mind."
That wasn't an option on Sept. 5 when the Rangers were in the middle of a 39-10 three-game sweep at the hands of the surging Astros.
Dunning's wife Rachel had given birth to their first child, Mack, in May, and Dunning had to be dad.
"That was the best blessing I've ever had in my life," he said. "At that point, it's like the game's over with and now I got to go be dad."
That doesn't mean Dunning wasn't still simmering from the 14-1 loss. He was. But the smiling face of his son who was just happy to see him return home put things in perspective.
"I got home and I was pissed off at myself and my son is sitting there waiting for me," he said. "He was just staring at me with a big ol smile on his face. And I'm like, 'I could be pissed off at myself and pissed off at the world right now but I'm looking at this innocent child who's just happy that I'm home and happy that I'm there. It just puts a different perspective and it just makes those bad days better. It's just special."
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