Series Recap: Texas Rangers vs. Cincinnati Reds 04/26-4/28

The Texas Rangers continued their nine-game homestand with a three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds at Globe Life Field this past Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Here’s my Rangers vs. Reds series recap for your information.

Friday, April 26

The Rangers opened the three-game series with a 2-1 win over the Reds on City Connect Friday. Texas improved to 14-13, while Cincinnati fell to 14-12. All hail the Peagle! Rangers pitcher Nathan Eovaldi pitched six innings and gave up three hits, one earned run, five walks, and eight strikeouts. Meanwhile, Reds pitcher Graham Ashcraft pitched 6 1/3 innings and gave up seven hits, one earned run, and three strikeouts. The Rangers rocked their Friday night fits, but the Reds wasted little time getting on the board. Spencer Steer stole second base. Elly De La Cruz scored for a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Steer went to third base after a throwing error by Jonah Heim. The Rangers tied the ballgame at one apiece. Evan Carter homered on a fly ball to right center field to tie the game 1-1 in the bottom of the second inning. After a five-inning scoring drought, Texas took a one-run lead. Marcus Semien homered on a fly ball to left field to put the Rangers up 2-1 in the bottom of the eighth inning. The Rangers held on for a 2-1 win over the Reds after nine innings. For Texas, Kirby Yates pitched one inning and gave up two strikeouts. And, for Cincinnati, Nick Martini went 0-for-1.

Saturday, April 27

The Rangers split the three-game series with an 8-4 loss to the Reds. Texas fell to 14-14, while Cincinnati improved to 15-12. Rangers pitcher Michael Lorenzen pitched six innings and gave up six hits, five earned runs, one walk, and three strikeouts. Meanwhile, Reds pitcher Hunter Greene pitched seven innings and gave up one hit, one walk, and six strikeouts. After a scoreless first inning, Cincinnati got on the board. Jonathan India singled on a line drive to Travis Jankowski. Christian Encarnacion-Strand scored for a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning. Jake Fraley went to third base, while Tyler Stephenson went to second base. Then, Nick Martini was out on a sacrifice fly to Leody Taveras. Fraley scored to make it a 2-0 game with one out in the inning. The Reds tacked on a run. Jonathan India singled on a line drive to Evan Carter. Christian Encarnacion-Strand scored for a 3-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning. India went to second base. The Reds tacked on four runs. Jonathan India homered on a fly ball to right field. Tyler Stephenson scored for a 5-0 lead in the top of the seventh inning. Then, Will Benson homered on a fly ball to right field. Nick Martini scored to make it a 7-0 game in the inning. The Reds added a run to put the game out of reach for the Rangers. Nick Martini was out on a sacrifice fly to Evan Carter. Luke Maile scored for an 8-0 lead with two outs in the top of the eighth inning. The Rangers finally got on the board, but it was too little, too late, despite a surplus of effort. Davis Wendzel homered on a fly ball to left center field. Leody Taveras scored to cut the Reds’ lead to 8-2 in the bottom of the ninth inning. Then, Corey Seager homered on a fly ball to right field to reduce the Reds’ lead to 8-3 in the inning. And then, Josh Smith doubled on a line drive to Stuart Fairchild. Nathaniel Lowe scored to cut the Reds’ lead in half, 8-4, in the inning. The Rangers lost to the Reds 8-4 after nine innings. For Texas, Jose Urena pitched three innings and gave up three strikeouts and two earned runs. And, for Cincinnati, Stuart Fairchild went 0-for-0.

Sunday, April 28

The Rangers concluded the three-game series with a 4-3 win over the Reds to win the rubber match and pick up a 2-1 series win. Texas improved to 15-14, while Cincinnati fell to 15-13. Rangers pitcher Dane Dunning pitched 5 1/3 innings and gave up three hits, one earned run, and 10 strikeouts. Meanwhile, Reds pitcher Andrew Abbott pitched 5 1/3 innings and gave up six hits, four earned runs, and seven strikeouts. The Rangers wasted little time getting on the board. Adolis Garcia homered on a line drive to left field. Nathaniel Lowe scored for a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Then, Wyatt Langford hit his first career home run, an inside-the-park home run on a fly ball to right field. Jonah Heim scored to make it a 4-0 game in the inning. The Reds finally got on the board. Will Benson singled on a sharp line drive to Adolis Garcia. Luke Maile scored to cut the Rangers’ lead to 4-1 in the bottom of the sixth inning. Benson went to and advanced to second base on a fielding error by Garcia. Then, Spencer Steer reached on a throwing error by Corey Seager. Benson and Elly De La Cruz scored to reduce the Rangers’ lead to 4-3 in the inning. The Rangers held on for a 4-3 win over the Reds after nine innings. Texas won the series vs. Cincinnati two games to one. For Texas, Kirby Yates pitched one inning and gave up one strikeout. And, for Cincinnati, Luke Maile went 1-for-3 with one run and one hit.

Notes

Wyatt Langford is just the fourth player in Rangers history (beginning in 1972) to hit an inside-the-park home run for his first career MLB home run: Wyatt Langford, 4/28/24 vs. CIN, Josh Smith, 7/11/22 vs. OAK, Craig Gentry, 9/23/11 vs. SEA, and Marc Sagmoen, 4/17/97 at KC.

Up Next

The Rangers will welcome the Washington Nationals to Arlington, Texas, for a three-game series starting on Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. Central.