Seager's HBP gives Rangers a scare in stretch drive
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ANAHEIM -- Rangers manager Bruce Bochy emphasized throughout the club’s six-game win streak that the biggest reason for the recent surge was having the entire lineup healthy again.
Since the All-Star break, four of their five position player All-Stars have spent some time on the injured list -- Corey Seager, Adolis García, Josh Jung and Jonah Heim -- before returning fully healthy during the last homestand.
On Tuesday night, during a 9-3 loss at Angel Stadium, the Rangers held their breath at the possibility that Seager would land there again. The shortstop got hit on the right wrist with a 93 mph fastball from Angels starter Reid Detmers in the fifth inning. He talked with the trainers and Bochy before initially staying in the game.
After a big five-run bottom of the fifth from the Angels, Seager was removed from the game with a right forearm contusion. Postgame X-rays came back negative, according to Bochy.
- Games remaining (5): at LAA (1); at SEA (4)
- Standings update: The Rangers (88-69) lead the AL West by 2 1/2 games over the Astros (86-72) and three games over the Mariners (85-72).
- Tiebreakers: The Rangers hold the head-to-head tiebreaker vs. the Mariners but not the Astros. For a Wild Card spot, they would win a tiebreaker vs. the Blue Jays.
- Magic number: 3 to clinch the AL West
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“He didn't want to come out,” Bochy said. “He wanted to stay in, but I made up my mind already. I was taking him out. … I just wanted to get him looked at, and it ended up being a long inning there. … If he needs a day, he needs a day. We'll see how he's doing tomorrow, but we have good news. It's just a contusion.”
With the AL West race as close as it is, the Rangers need every inning possible out of their guys. But on Tuesday, facing a large deficit, Bochy removed the majority of the starters early as the Rangers’ six-game winning streak came to an end.
Seager said he was relieved the X-ray didn’t show anything worse after he was in considerable pain in the moment. He landed on the IL twice this season, once with a hamstring strain and once with a right thumb sprain.
“Where we're at, it was like, ‘What's the point in pushing it tonight?'” Seager said. “It’s just that kind of thing. Hopefully, you get off your feet and feel a little better tomorrow. … I would like to be out there tomorrow.”
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Even before Seager’s exit, the Rangers were in a big hole that only got bigger as the night went on.
If there’s one thing that will prevent the Rangers from going deep into October, it has been clear for some time now that it will be the bullpen.
Rookie Cody Bradford opened Tuesday’s bullpen game and put Texas behind early, allowing a three-run homer to Brandon Drury in the first inning as Detmers continued his dominance on the opposite side of the field. The Angels lefty has a 4.48 ERA this season but a 1.85 ERA in four starts against the Rangers.
“Rough start,” Bochy said. “[Bradford] gave up the bloop hit and then served up the three-run homer. But he kept us in the game. In the fifth inning, it was 4-1, and it just got away from us. Yeah, just one of those games that got away. We have to let go, that's for sure, and come out and be ready to go tomorrow, as we always say.”