Thoughts on Rangers’ 2-1 win

Rangers 2, Astros 1

• That was a game that felt like Rangers stole it.
• Maybe? Or maybe they didn’t steal it, they just captured it even though they were trying to give it away?
• I don’t know. They had just four hits in the game. Marcus Semien’s first home run was the first hit, Nathaniel Lowe’s 10th inning RBI single was the fourth, and in between were Corey Seager’s sixth and Jonah’s eighth. Heim. Winning a game where there are only four players feels like stealing one.
• On the other hand, the Rangers drew 9 walks and had a HBP, and getting 10 free baserunners like that and scoring only two runs seems like you’re trying to give the game away.
• Every game went off the board, which I feel doesn’t happen very often. With the bases loaded in the first inning, one out, already a home run away, Nathan Eovaldi threw a pitch that seemed clear to everyone, to Jeremy Pena’s blaster and Jonah Heim’s glove for striking out three. Except that the judge called the interference of the catcher and ruled Pena was to go forward, to force a run.
• I watched the game on replay, and it seemed as clear as any game that the ball hit the bat, and the bat didn’t hit Heim. That said, based on how the replay went, I was filled with concern that the call might somehow stop.
• It didn’t stop, and later Eovaldi got Jake Myers out of the third row, and the buttholes went down a bit.
• Eovaldi went seven innings and allowed eight hits. Half of them came in one sequence to the first. Two more came in the sixth, when the Astros loaded the bases with one out. GIDP eliminated that threat.
• I was lukewarm on the signing of Nathan Eovaldi 19 months ago. Now? Now, I want him to play for Rangers for the rest of his life.
• Big things to David Robertson for throwing 30 pitches over the eighth and ninth, allowing Bruce Bochy to save Kirby Yates for the 10th. Big walk by three Rangers players today.
• Oh, yeah, another review that went off the board. In the sixth, with a single, Corey Seager singled and Josh Smith walked. Wyatt Langford hit a third baseman that went 5-4-3 for what was initially called a double play, but it was clearly a foul and was called back. Nathaniel Lowe then hit a slow roller to the right side of the infield. Spencer Last Name sounds like Spaghetti covered slowly first, and the call on the field was that Lowe hit it, while Smith scored. Langford never stopped in the third and scored again, making it 3-1. Houston challenged, I thought the phone was going to hang up because it looked too close to say one way or the other. I was wrong. Call over, inning over.
• All of this was difficult and stressful. Part of me says it shouldn’t be because the Rangers’ chances of making the playoffs are really slim, and they probably won’t do whatever happened with this game, win or lose. The emotional part of my brain doesn’t listen to that, though.
• Nathan Eovaldi topped out at 98.5 mph with his fastball averaging 96.2 mph. David Robertson hit 95.5 mph with his homer. Kirby Yates touched 94.1 mph with his fastball.
• Nathaniel Lowe had a 103.2 mph single that drove in the winning run. Marcus Semien’s speed was 102.3 mph. Corey Seager had a 101.5 mph fastball and a 100.0 mph single. Jonah Heim had a 100.0 mph line.
• Sunday is the last game of the first half. Max Scherzer and the offense can make us all feel better at halftime by doing good things.