For a Texas team that wants to keep up with Houston in the AL West, they had an abysmal start to 2017 with three straight losses to Cleveland. The Rangers had the lead until the final inning. A 6-4 lead quickly turned into a 9-6 deficit as the Indians put up five runs in the top of the ninth inning. Texas simply couldn't muster a comeback attempt with their last three outs. Relief pitcher Shawn Armstrong picked up the victory throwing just six pitches and getting the final out of the eighth inning.
Indians look strong in opening days
Cleveland already had a pretty good showing before the five-Run explosion in the final inning, but that boosted them to nine hits and four bases on balls compared to just seven strikeouts.
Shortstop Francisco Lindor (.300 afterward) hit two home runs in the contest. His first one came early in the top of the sixth to cut the deficit to 5-4. The final one was a grand slam that lifted the Indians to their 9-6 final score.
Lindor picked up an error in the game, but he was still happy about the heroics he put on display after the match. He talked about afterwards how the Indians are playing similar to last season. Despite being up or down by three runs, the team has to fight hard until the end.
Rangers falter after solid start
Texas started the game off with a two-run lead after the first inning and built on it with three more runs in the fifth inning. Left fielder Nomar Mazara (.583) led the offense by recording three hits and reeled in three RBIs.
He started off the scoring with a two-run slam in the first inning. Unfortunately, the Rangers couldn't keep from striking out, tallying up 12 total as a team. First baseman Mike Napoli (.100 avg) was the biggest culprit with three strikeouts.
Starting pitcher Cole Hamels didn't have his best stuff but did enough to get the victory.
He gave up three earned runs on five hits along with recording four strikeouts. Relief pitcher Sam Dyson picked up the loss and was tagged for all five runs by the Indians in the final inning.
Up next for Rangers and Indians
This series comes to a conclusion with Cleveland having a 3-0 start to the season. They move on to Arizona for a three-game intraleague series.
First pitch is Friday night at 9:40 PM Eastern Time at Chase Field.
For Texas, they'll hope to get things jumpstarted with their home opener against Oakland. Their three-game series starts at 8:05 PM Eastern time on Friday night at Globe Life Park.
