ARLINGTON, Texas — Just as you would expect for a team that spent $300 million over the winter redoing the starting rotation: The lineup is apparently unstoppable.
For the second straight game, the Rangers unveiled a shiny new pitcher to the public. And for the second straight game, it was the offense that absolutely stole the show and throttled the defending National League champions.
In Saturday’s 16-3 win over Philadelphia, the offense once again reminded folks not to sleep on them. Marcus Semien led off the game with a homer, only eight weeks earlier than he hit his first one as a Ranger a year ago. Mitch Garver threatened Iowa’s Caitlin Clark for most 3-pointers in town this weekend, blasting a pair of three-run homers once shade spread across top-down Globe Life Field making it easier to see.
The Rangers lineup rolled up seven more hits with runners in scoring position; they are 12 for 21 over the first two games.
Speaking of the first two games, the Rangers are 2-0 for the first time since they went to the World Series in 2011. Their 27-run output set a franchise record and is tied for the most by a team in the last 70 years. The last time anybody scored more: 1951 when the Chicago White Sox put up 30 over two games on the poor St. Louis Browns. You know it’s a historic feat when a team no longer in existence is mentioned.
“It was good to see those bats come to life the last two games,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “You see games like this when the offense hits and it just becomes contagious. That’s what happened today. We just had pretty good at-bats and kept pushing and put the game away.”
And people were wondering how Bochy would do with all the rule changes that took place during the three years he was away from managing. Turns out, if he gets 11 runs every night, he’ll be OK. He’s 160-13 in those games for his career now.
Look, it’s all fun and games when things go well early. But it could be argued there was more substance to the two wins than just opening-weekend hilarities. After six consecutive losing seasons, the Rangers needed to get off to a good start to build a little momentum. The lineup has seen to that.
After spending all that money on pitching over the winter, it was fair to wonder if the offense had gone unaddressed and if it would be able to, um, hold its weight. The Rangers’ biggest offensive addition over the winter was a $2.5 million last-minute contract for Robbie Grossman. He’s paid dividends with five RBIs over the first two games, though he struggled with balls in the sun in right field Saturday.
You could also say a healthy Garver was something of an addition, too. He struggled with elbow pain from the time he got to camp last year until mid-July surgery. You could say something similar about Semien, who went straight from helping to negotiate the CBA during the lockout into a high-profile spot with the Rangers and struggled out of the gate. He hit .157 with no homers last April and didn’t hit his first until May 28.
It goes beyond them, too. Josh Jung and Josh Smith, both in their first full years, reached base via a walk or hit-by-pitch in game-changing situations in each of the first two games. There were times last year they were exposed, but that was part of the learning process.
“I wasn’t myself last year,” Garver said. “But you look around this room and there are plenty of guys who are making huge leaps from a year ago. Top to bottom this lineup can bang. We are swinging at strikes and passing the baton. And it’s great when you tie it all together with a guy like [Grossman]. It’s a potent lineup.”
Said Semien: “I know a lot of people weren’t talking about Mitch Garver over the winter, but he’s a Silver Slugger. We had guys who had good years last year, but there are other guys here, too. We’re putting together some pretty good at-bats. We are trying to control the strike zone and we’re doing what we are supposed to do.”
On the second pitch from Zack Wheeler in the bottom of the first, Semien drove a ball to right center that landed in the home bullpen. Nice start. But the Rangers added another run on a two-out single by Grossman. They scored twice more in the third on a Grossman sacrifice fly and Trea Turner’s inability to field Garver’s grounder.
The Phillies cut it to within a run against Nathan Eovaldi. Grossman, a left fielder by nature, lost a pair of balls in the sun in right. He’s only playing there because Leody Taveras is hurt and to put the best offensive lineup on the field early in games, Adolis García slid to center. They figured Grossman’s offensive contributions could overcome defensive inefficiencies. So far, so good.
Garver hit his first three-run homer with two outs in the fifth off reliever Yunior Marte. With the count full, he pulled a ball just inside the left field foul pole. Two innings later, against Seranthony Dominguez, he did the same on a 2-1 pitch. Funny, before the game Garver had talked about the difficulty of seeing the ball with the roof open early in day games.
Seemed to see things OK Saturday.
