ARLINGTON, Texas — It defies logical explanation.
On the eve of injured starting pitcher Matt Manning's return to the rotation, lefty Matthew Boyd had to leave his start Monday after just 15 pitches. Boyd, who missed most of last season rehabbing from flexor tendon surgery in his left arm, experienced discomfort in his left elbow.
An inning later, reliever Will Vest walked off the field with trainer Ryne Eubanks. He tweaked his right knee on the 17th pitch of his outing.
Unfathomable.
And yet, the Tigers still managed to win a baseball game.
Andy Ibanez, cast away by the Rangers last year, slugged a three-run home run and Texas-native Jake Rogers added a two-run blast, sending the Tigers to a 7-2 win over American League West-leading Texas, 6-2, at Globe Life Field.
Rangers' lefty starter Andrew Heaney had struck out Ibanez on three pitches in the first inning. But with two on, Ibanez scorched an 0-1 changeup, hitting the ball 427 feet over the Tigers' bullpen in left-center.
Rogers ended Heaney's night with a two-out blast in the sixth. His team-leading 10th homer sailed 404 feet just inside the foul pole in left.
Center fielder Matt Vierling had two singles and a double and scored a pair of runs.
The bullpen, after covering five innings on Sunday, did yeoman's work again. Between Boyd (two), Vest (three) and former Ranger and Forney, Texas-native Mason Englert (four), they posted nine strikeouts through the first four innings.
The damage came in the form of two solo home runs − Marcus Semien hit Boyd's second pitch into the seats in left and Adolis Garcia blasted a center-cut fastball from Englert into the Rangers' bullpen in right-center.
Lefty Tyler Alexander got it to the back end of the bullpen, putting up zeros in the fifth, sixth and seventh. He punched out four.
With Alex Lange unavailable (he'd thrown 2.1 innings the last two games), it was up to Jason Foley and Tyler Holton to lock it down. Foley struck out two in a clean eighth. Holton issued a pair of walks and loaded the bases in the ninth, but got Corey Seager to fly out to end the game.
The Tigers collectively racked up 16 strikeouts against one of the top offensive teams in baseball.
Boyd's 15th pitch was a 91-mph fastball that went to the backstop and almost immediately manager AJ Hinch and Eubanks were on their way to the mound.
His 15th pitch, a 91-mph fastball, went to the backstop and almost immediately manager AJ Hinch and head athletic trainer Ryne Eubanks were on their way to the mound.
Boyd didn’t grab at his arm or make any demonstrative movement, but when he came off the field, he was holding his left arm very still. Left elbow discomfort was the Tigers' preliminary diagnosis.
This was Boyd’s 15th start and he’d had no physical issues to this point.
After Semien's homer, he struck out Corey Seager and Josh Jung, with his fastball hitting 93 mph. He threw a changeup to Garcia before uncorking the fastball to the backstop.
Vest had struck out three of the four hitters he faced but landed awkwardly on his 17th pitch. His right knee seemed to buckle.
With Manning coming off the 60-day injured list Tuesday, the Tigers were already going to have to make moves on their active and 40-man rosters. Now, most likely, Boyd will go on the injured list to accommodate Manning. But with the extended bullpen usage Sunday and Monday, it seems likely that a fresh-armed reliever may be summoned from Triple-A Toledo.
