Shane Bieber won the American League Cy Young award in 2020. Most likely only one Ranger in the starting lineup he faced yesterday will actually be a Ranger when the seasons starts. So, don’t read too much into yesterday’s practice game. It was the best Cleveland had to offer going against Rangers minor leaguers.

Naturally, Bieber got the best of it. He struck out six Rangers in four innings.

It was a wave the white towel game for sure. The Rangers were undermanned from the onset. But they did manage three hits. One from perennial underdog Andy Ibañez, one from Charlie Culberson who’s hitting .438 in spring and whose performance should have won him the starting third base job but won’t because the Rangers front office can’t quit Odor, and one from minor league catcher John Hicks.

Not many major league teams beat Shane Bieber. So, you can’t expect what basically amounts to a Triple-A team to do so.

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