The Texas Rangers were great until the rain showed up. After that Joe Schobert Jersey , they were holding on.
The Rangers led 5-0 when heavy showers forced a 29-minute rain delay in the top of the fourth inning Thursday night. The first batter after the delay hit a two-run homer to give the Rangers a 7-0 lead, but it was all Detroit Tigers after that.
The Tigers had the winning run at the plate with no one out in the ninth inning, but closer Keone Kela retired the next three batters to finish off a 7-5 victory and snap a three-game losing streak.
The Rangers didn’t arrive in Detroit until the early hours of Thursday morning after an extra-inning loss to the Astros the previous night.
”We had a tough night last night and some tough travel, but our guys showed up tonight,” Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. ”We needed to get a win to gain some momentum and gain some confidence.”
Yovani Gallardo (3-0) got the win, giving up four runs and eight hits in 5 1/3 innings. He walked one and struck out two while winning his third straight start.
Kela allowed a run in the ninth – the first he’s given up in 12 career innings against Detroit – before finishing off his 21st save.
Matthew Boyd allowed a season-high seven runs and seven hits in four innings. He is 0-3 with a 10.59 ERA in his last four starts.
”Everyone goes through good stretches and bad stretches at this level, and a lot of it depends on luck,” he said. ”Once the game is over, you have to put it away and focus on getting ready to take the ball in five days.”
Tigers bench coach Steve Liddle, who managed while Ron Gardenhire recovered from the heat exhaustion that caused him to leave Wednesday’s loss in Chicago, wasn’t pleased with Boyd’s pitch selection.
”He never threw his fastball, so they were sitting on his soft stuff all night,” Liddle said. ”They saw what he was doing and made adjustments, but he never made any adjustments to counter that.
”You can’t throw the same thing over and over and expect to win games.”
Detroit lost is third straight and dropped to 2-14 since June 17.
”We were down a touchdown early and we had the winning run at the plate in the ninth,” Liddle said. ”That’s something positive we can take from this.”
The Rangers took a 2-0 lead in the second inning when Gallo became one of the few players to clear Comerica Park’s right-field stands with a home run. Gallo came into the game hitting .191 with 20 homers.
Nomar Mazara made it 3-0 with an RBI grounder in the third, and Tigers third baseman Ronny Rodriguez misplayed Adrian Beltre’s grounder to allow a fourth run to score.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s fourth-inning RBI single extended the Rangers’ lead to 5-0 on the final pitch before a 29-minute rain delay. The game had started 15 minutes late due to a brief rain shower.
On Boyd’s fifth pitch after play resumed James Hanna Jersey , Guzman hit a two-run homer to put Texas ahead by seven.
The Tigers made it 7-3 in the bottom of the fourth on RBI singles by John Hicks, Jim Adduci and Rodriguez, but Gallardo got Jose Iglesias to hit into an inning-ending double play.
”It’s tough coming out of the rain delay,” Gallardo said. ”We were ready to start the game and it rained, and then I had to stay loose through the second one. I gave up those three runs, but we got out of it.”
Goodrum homered in the sixth to make it 7-4.
Rodriguez started the ninth with an infield single and Iglesias reached on an error by third baseman Jurickson Profar. Victor Reyes followed with an RBI single to make it 7-5, but pinch-hitter Jeimer Candelario bounced into a force at second.
Kela struck out Nicholas Castellanos and retired Goodrum to end the game.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Rangers: RHP Chris Martin (groin) was placed on the 10-day disabled list and RHP Ricardo Rodriguez was recalled from Triple-A Round Rock. … LHP Martin Perez (elbow) was scheduled to make his third rehab start for Round Rock on Thursday. Perez has not pitched for the Rangers this season after elbow surgery.
Tigers: Gardenhire was told by doctors to stay in the air-conditioned clubhouse with the heat index approaching 100 degrees at game time. Temperatures are forecast to be much cooler in Detroit on Friday. … RHP Drew VerHagen (broken nose) is expected to make one more rehab appearance for Triple-A Toledo before rejoining the Tigers.
BANISTER’S MILESTONE
The win was Banister’s 300th as a manager in his 574th game, making him the fastest manager to 300 wins in Rangers history. ”It’s a nice milestone for the organization and the ball club,” he said. ”I’ve been fortunate enough to be granted a great opportunity here.”
UP NEXT
Bartolo Colon (5-5, 4.76) will try to break a tie with Dennis Martinez for most wins by a pitcher born in Latin America when he starts against the Tigers on Friday. Colon is the last active major-league player to have played at Tiger Stadium, which closed in 1999. Jordan Zimmermann (3-0, 3.91) is scheduled to start for Detroit.
—
The Indiana Pacers look loose and sound confident.
They were laughing, smiling and joking around at practice Thursday as turned to a new task – protecting their home court this weekend against LeBron James.
Sure, his sensational 46-point, 12-rebound effort in Game 2 exposed flaws in Indiana’s defense and allowed Cleveland to even the series, but it sure didn’t shake the faith of the fearless Pacers.
”It’s a good sign when you lose by three and the best player in the world has a game like that Kevin Zeitler Jersey ,” Indiana point guard Darren Collison said.
The Pacers shouldn’t be rattled.
They are 4-2 against the three-time defending Eastern Conference champs this season, fought back from an early 18-point deficit Wednesday with Victor Oladipo in foul trouble and still had a chance to tie the score on Oladipo’s wide-open 3-pointer with 27 seconds left.
They still can seize control of the series by winning the next two in Indianapolis.
To avoid such a plight, the Cavs could give their star player some help – or they will need more command performances from The King.
But finding a stronger supporting cast Friday night in Game 3 could be potentially problematic with Kevin Love trying to play through an injured left thumb. Love, who is right-handed, said X-rays of the hand were negative even though he sat out the final 3 1/2 minutes of Game 2 as the Pacers continued to close the deficit.
”He’s great, yes sir,” coach Tyronn Lue said Wednesday. ”Ready to go.”
The Cavs did not have media availability Thursday.
Indiana, meanwhile, spent most of the day working on corrections.
”I’ve already watched it,” Oladipo said, cutting off a question about whether he’d been studying film. ”But I’ll probably watch it again.”
While coach Nate McMillan didn’t provide specific details about what adjustments he might make, the Pacers figure the simplest solution to containing James and regaining control of the series will be focusing on themselves.
”I think offensively, we didn’t have the proper spacing and we were letting them push us off our spots, like we did to them in Game 1. And Victor got into foul trouble,” Collison said. ”There were a lot of encouraging signs from that game because we didn’t play our best basketball.”
—
RAPTORS AT WIZARDS
Raptors lead 2-0. Game 3, 8 p.m. EDT Jermey Parnell Jersey , ESPN2.
NEED TO KNOW: The Raptors had never taken a 2-0 lead in a playoff series until now. With DeMar DeRozan leading the way, this one could be over quickly unless the Wizards figure out how to play a little defense, particularly on the perimeter. DeRozan scored 37 points, shot 61 percent from the field and 50 percent on 3s in Game 2. In all, the Raptors have made 29 baskets from beyond the arc through two games, 11 more than the Wizards. Washington, meanwhile, has lost seven of its last eight, dating to the regular season. Asked about where things stand right now, PG John Wall said: ”I’m just always cool. Just stay cool and understand that we didn’t play our best basketball.”
KEEP AN EYE ON: Washington’s starting lineup. Coach Scott Brooks has hinted about possibly removing C Marcin Gortat and inserting F Mike Scott. That would make Washington more athletic and nimble, and Scott’s ability to close out on outside shooters helps the defense against 3s. Plus, Scott offers more scoring punch.
INJURY UPDATE: Raptors G Fred VanVleet sat out Game 1 because of a bruised right shoulder suffered in Toronto’s regular season finale, and was out of sync in Game 2. It’s unclear how much – or if – he has practiced the last two days. Washington SF Otto Porter Jr. has been dealing with a strained right calf recently and a bum hip before that, but Brooks declared him ”100 percent healthy” heading into Game 3.
PRESSURE IS ON: Bradley Beal. The Wizards top scorer (22.6 points) is averaging just 14 in the playoffs. He was 3 for 11 in Game 2 and has struggled from 3-point range, too. Still, the Raptors know they must keep him under control. ”He’s one of the most dynamic players in our league T.J. Lang Jersey ,” Toronto coach Dwane Casey said. ”We’ve got to treat him as such and not look at him having a couple of games where he hasn’t shot well. We’ll treat him for who he is.”
—
CELTICS AT BUCKS
Celtics lead 2-0. Game 3, 9:30 p.m. EDT, ESPN.
NEED TO KNOW: The Bucks won at Boston on opening night and have since lost four of five in the series. Milwaukee’s only win during that stretch came April 3, at home. So the Bucks are hoping a change in scenery also helps them change direction. The Celtics expect to see a different team this weekend. ”You know they’re going to come out aggressive, they’re going to come out hard,” Boston guard Terry Rozier said. ”We’re coming out with the mindset that we can forget about taking care of the home-court (advantage).”
KEEP AN EYE ON: Bucks F Jabari Parker. The Celtics have been challenging Parker and Al Horford has taken advantage in the paint. Now Parker, who has scored only two points in the first two games while averaging 12 minutes per game, sounds frustrated as he tries to work his way back from a second serious knee injury. When asked Thursday about how he gets more minutes, Parker said: ”Be on my coach’s good side. Yeah. Whatever that is, just try to be on the good side.” Coach Joe Prunty said later he has no issues with Parker. ”He’s on my good side,” Prunty said. ”We need him and everybody to be ready to go Womens Josh Allen Jersey ,
