Rangers manager reacts to competitive loss to Dodgers

With the Texas Rangers looking to show that they are a playoff contender, the team would have a competitive loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers at the start of the three-game series on Friday, 8-7. While the Rangers made the Dodgers pay a few times during the game, it did end in a loss, though manager Skip Schumaker had an optimistic point of view after the game.

The game came down to the bottom of the ninth inning for Los Angeles, as they walked off the outing with a Max Muncy solo home run, but the journey to the end was one that Texas can hang their hats on. Schumaker would echo the same sentiments, saying how, besides the result, he will “take that fight any day of the week.”

“I love the character of this team, the fight. This is not an easy place to come in and a team to play against, but we fought to the end, got to their closer, tied it up there, and forced them to hit in the bottom of the ninth. So it was a really good fight,” Schumaker said, via MLB.com.

Rangers’ Skip Schumaker on Kumar Rocker’s outing

Corey Seager hit a three-run home run against his former team to give the Rangers the lead in the third inning, and Wyatt Langford hit one to left field in the fifth to give them a 4-2 lead. While Los Angeles would then score five unanswered runs, Texas tied the game back up in the ninth, leading into the Muncy walk-off dinger.

Kumar Rocker got the start for the Rangers, throwing five innings, striking out five batters, walking two, and allowing three runs and five hits. Still, Schumaker found a lot to like about his outing.

“I actually really liked his outing. He was on the attack…I thought it was a really good outing by Rock against a really tough lineup with a bunch of lefties…Overall, just another really good outing for him, and he’s continuing to grow,” Schumaker said.

Texas looks to get one win over the Dodgers as the series continues on Saturday.