It's official. 2021 is a losing season for the Texas Rangers — their fifth in a row.
Texas fell to the Cleveland Indians on Wednesday night by a score of 7-2, losing their 82nd game of the season. The Rangers didn't play a terrible game, despite dealing with a COVID-19 outbreak that has six players on the COVID IL and one more in contact tracing protocols.
The Rangers have had to get help from Triple-A Round Rock during this outbreak. Jake Latz has been one of the pitchers called upon to start for the Rangers, and he made his Major League debut on Wednesday night.
For the most part, Latz looked the part of a big leaguer. He attacked the strike zone and didn't shy away from hitters. He did, however, make a few costly mistakes, giving up three solo homers on the night.
Overall, Latz gave up three runs on five hits with no walks and four strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings.
"I wasn't quite sure what to expect," said Rangers manager Chris Woodward. "Honestly, the composure he showed throughout the night was pretty impressive. I felt he was in control the whole night. He looked like a Major League pitcher out there tonight. Overall, it was a pretty impressive debut."
The offense struggled to provide any run support for the 25-year-old southpaw. The only offense came on a Jason Martin two-run homer in the sixth inning, after Latz was already out of the game. The Rangers compiled 10 hits on the night, but went 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position.
"Early on, we pressured them a ton," Woodward said. "I felt like we got a little bit unlucky in those first three innings. We hit a lot of balls hard. Every ball we swung at was on the screws. And that's baseball. Sometimes, they're gonna fall. I thought later on, we had some guys on base and we just didn't have the at-bat quality that we needed in a big spot. But overall, I loved our at-bat quality."
More growing opportunities for the youngest team in Major League Baseball.
The Rangers (44-82) and Indians (62-62) will meet for the rubber match of this series on Thursday night at Progressive Field. The Rangers will call on Jordan Lyles (6-10, 5.33 ERA) to square off with Cleveland left-hander Sam Hentges (1-4, 7.52 ERA).
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