The Texas Rangers scored two runs but the Anaheim Angels scored five runs.
I’m a big baseball fan so when I see or meet anyone I always tell them, “If you ever get the chance, you gotta see George Klassen pitch.” He’s one of the greatest of all time and it’s a privilege and a pleasure to watch him ply his trade on the mound.
What’s that you say? George Klassen had a 7.27 ERA and hadn’t pitched into the fifth inning in any of his three career starts and had walked 14 batters in his 8 2/3 career innings? Well that simply cannot be true. After all, I just saw him shove over six innings with just one walk against a team that Jacob deGrom himself believes is a playoff contender. THE Jacob deGrom!
The Rangers scored two runs tonight, one in the top of the second and another one inning later when Corey Seager hit a solo home run. That gave them a 2-0 lead and then they never scored again against baseball’s worst franchise of the last like 20 years but especially this particular year.
Which, ok, fine. They had an early lead. That’s usually a good sign. Except, in a 2-1 game, the bullpen immediately imploded for a disastrous three-run inning the moment tonight’s start Cal Quantrill exited despite facing the bottom of essentially the league’s worst lineup.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Angels scored their fifth run on a ground ball that bounced off the first base bag. Don’t bemoan Texas’ poor luck, though. After all, they let a bunch of terrible Angels batters on base to open up the potential for something like that to happen.
So the Rangers are below .500 again. The Astros won. It’s basically a 2.5 game lead in the West because the Rangers also lost a bunch to Houston this season and don’t have the tiebreaker against them.
The Rangers are 1-5 at Anaheim this season. They’ve scored just eight runs in three games against the Angels this week, three of which came in Monday’s extra inning when they were gifted a free baserunner in scoring position. They cannot and will not win this series.
But at least we can tell our grandkids we got to see George Klassen pitch.
Player of the Game: Quantrill allowed a run in five innings as he stepped back into the rotation. If the Rangers had the ability to treat the Angels like any of the other teams in the league have, he’d have a win tonight.
Up Next: The Rangers and Angels close out this series as the Rangers turn to deGrom — who I’m pretty sure cared more about just not having to move mid-year than any belief in Texas — hoping for their second win in Orange County in their final game at the Big A this season. RHP Walbert Urena will pitch for Anaheim.
Despite it being a getaway game, the Thursday night first pitch from Angel Stadium is scheduled for 9:07 pm CDT and coverage will be back on the Rangers Sports Network.
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