Gray, Rangers can't stave off Guardians' hot bats in defeat

CLEVELAND -- The Rangers held a lead against the Guardians for approximately nine minutes on Saturday night at Progressive Field.

After taking the series opener on Friday night, the Rangers looked as if they would carry that same fire into Saturday’s matchup, scoring a run in the top of the first inning. By the end of the frame, the Guardians had tied it and by the second inning, Cleveland took a lead it would never relinquish.

Texas ultimately fell, 13-5, as Cleveland evened the three-game set.

If Friday’s series opener was a perfect kind of win -- a quality start from Nathan Eovaldi, the offense scoring early and shutdown bullpen innings -- then Saturday’s sequel was the exact opposite.

Rangers starter Jon Gray pitched just two innings in his first start (second appearance) off the injured list. He faced three batters in the third inning, concluding with a three-run homer from Jhonkensy Noel that ended his day. Gray ultimately gave up seven runs (six earned) in what was already planned to be a short outing.

It was the most runs Gray has surrendered since he gave up eight against the Orioles on June 27.

“His stuff was good,” said manager Bruce Bochy. “It was just command that was the issue with him more than anything. He was a little rusty, I guess you could say, but it was a rough night for the pitchers. We gave up a lot of hits, and I think over half of them were extra bases, which tells you we made a lot of mistakes tonight.”

Gray agreed that his stuff felt good, while noting that he thought he ran out of gas by the third inning, when he didn’t record an out.

“The first few innings look horrible if you look at the results, but I feel like a lot of the swings were uncomfortable,” Gray said. “They really found a lot of holes tonight. They're good at that. They're a good team of not striking out and putting the ball in play, and when it works out for them, what can you do?”

Though Gray wasn’t meant to go too much further than 60 pitches anyway, the bullpen still had to cover more innings than the Rangers hoped. It went as well as could be expected. Meaning not well at all. Rangers pitchers allowed runs in six of the first seven innings against the Guardians. Reliever Grant Anderson allowed three solo homers all on his own.

The game snapped a season-high streak of games in which Rangers pitchers had limited opponents to five or fewer runs. Texas is now 5-39 when allowing six or more runs in a game.

“The score always will dictate who pitches,” Bochy said. “Some guys need some work. We probably wouldn't set up for them to be facing some of those hitters. But you know, they need work. I guess you look at the silver lining on that. They got out there, but just didn't pitch well. And I'll say this, when they put the ball in play, they didn't hit it hard. We didn’t have a lot of luck tonight, either.”

Gray now has a 5.82 ERA over his last seven outings, spanning back before his injured list stint due to a groin strain. In his 15 appearances (13 starts) before that, the right-hander was enjoying one of his best stretches as a Ranger, posting a 3.03 ERA across 71 1/3 innings.

Much of Gray’s time with Texas has been injury riddled, often slowing his progress just when he looks like he’s hitting a stride.

Through this final stretch of the season, Gray is looking to finish strong and healthy as the Rangers collectively look to do the same thing.

“With him, it’s all about execution,” Bochy said. “When you throw 95-96 mph and command it, you're gonna have success, but if you make some pitches in the heart of the plate, you’re probably gonna pay for it, and that's usually the issue with him.”