If yesterday’s game was a car wreck, there would be rubberneckers lined up for miles on the other side wondering what happened.
“Wow, how did that car end up in a tree upside down? That doesn’t seem physically possible.”
How did the Rangers lose that game yesterday? That didn’t seem possible either.
But they did.
When the Rangers scored five runs in the fifth inning, it looked like Dane Dunning was finally going to end his road curse. He had gone twenty-one road games as a Rangers without a win. Lost eleven decisions. Texas lost all eight road games Dunning had started this year.
Dunning didn’t help himself by walking the leadoff hitter in the bottom of the fifth. After a strikeout, Rougned Odor dropped a line drive just out of the reach of newly-acquired and now freshly anointed Texas Ranger Steven Dugger, who played a single into a double.
The next batter hit a sharp grounder to Nathanial Lowe, drawn in to prevent the runner at third from scoring on an grounder. Only thing is, he failed to field the ball. So not only did the runner on third score but so did the runner on second. What had been a 5-2 lead was now tied at 5-5.
When Marcus Semien led off the ninth with a home run to snap the tie, it looked like the Rangers were going to finally win a road game Dane Dunning started. They brought in their lockdown closer Joe Barlow to shut things down.
Again, the Rangers gave up the lead, sending this to extra innings.
Only to lose it on a bases loaded hit batter in the bottom of the tenth. Matt Moore pitched the entire tenth inning, gave up the run to lose the game, and threw just two pitches. That is how odd that inning went.
Baltimore started with the ghost runner on second. The first pitch Moore threw to Odor was hit for a single. They intentionally walked the next batter, meaning, no pitches thrown. Then, the first pitch to the following batter hit him.
A walk-off hit-by-pitch. After some sloppy defense. And the inability to save a lead.
Because of all that, Dane Dunning’s consecutive winless streak on the road is twenty-two games. He deserved better in this one. All Rangers fans deserved better.’
A hit batter with bases loaded. The Rangers invent ways to lose.
*****
