Sunday, 4 a.m.
Not enough defense. Not enough pitching.
For that matter, there wasn’t a heck of a lot of hitting, either.
Saturday was a day the Texas Rangers struck back in their series against the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rangers won 8-4, taking advantage of a lot of leaky play by the Rays. It didn’t hurt that Corey Seager had five hits, including a double and a home run.
Content beyond this point is for members only.
Already a member? To view the rest of this column, sign in using the handy "Sign In" button located in the upper right corner of the GarySheltonSports.com blog (it's at the far right of the navigation bar under Gary's photo). Not a member? It's easy to subscribe so you can view the rest of this column and all other premium content on GarySheltonSports.com.
That said, the Rays certainly helped the Rangers along the way. In the second inning, on a routine groundout to second, infielder Vidal Brujan threw the ball into left field, allowing a run and sending the Rangers on their way to a 3-0 lead.
It was 6-0 by the fourth when the Rays finally showed up. They scored four in the inning on four hits, including a three-run home run by Francisco Mejia. However, the Rays managed just three more hits and no more runs the rest of the day.
The Rays’ first three pitchers — Taj Bradley, Jalen Beaks and Jose Lopez, gave up seven earned runs among them. Bradley lasted just 3 2/3 innings.
“He just kind of fell behind guys,” Rays’ manager Kevin Cash said. “A young pitcher on the mound … you try to make every play for him. The one Brujan threw a way kind of snowballed on him a little bit.”
For the Rays, Josh Lowe and Mejia each had two hits.
The Rays and Rangers wrap up their series today at 1:40 p.m. at Tropicana Field. Shane McClanahan (9-1) will start for the Rays against Martin Perez.