Apr 5, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers relief pitcher Luke Jackson (77) celebrates with Texas Rangers catcher Kyle Higashioka (11) after the game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images The Texas Rangers will continue to lean on their bullpen as they aim for their fifth straight win Sunday afternoon against the Tampa Bay Rays in Arlington, Texas.
The Rangers are one game away from a series sweep after holding off the Rays 6-4 on Saturday. Jacob deGrom allowed four earned runs to tie the game and exited in the sixth inning, but Wyatt Langford blasted the go-ahead two-run home run in the seventh.
“These guys, we got a good group in there,” deGrom said postgame. “Like we’ve said before, everybody’s trying to do their part. I was trying to put us in a position to win. The game got tied, but then the offense goes out and does what they do. It’s impressive. Everybody’s trying to pick each other up and move forward, and the bullpen did a great job of closing that out.”
The bullpen choices Saturday consisted of Jacob Webb, Robert Garcia, Chris Martin and Luke Jackson. While Webb was tagged with a blown save when a double scored a runner he inherited from deGrom, the quartet of relievers did not give up an earned run.
Texas relievers have yielded just two runs during the four-game win streak. The Rangers’ bullpen has a 3.12 ERA, 10th in the majors, and they’re responsible for three victories. Only the Los Angeles Dodgers have more.
“They’ve done a really good job of picking each other up,” manager Bruce Bochy said after Texas won the series opener Friday. “I said it would be a little fluid down there with how I used them. … They’re all going in, throwing strikes and doing their thing.”
For the Rays, Brandon Lowe hit his third homer of the year and Jonathan Aranda added his first in Saturday’s defeat, the team’s third in a row.
Lowe climbed the Rays’ all-time list with his long ball, passing Aubrey Huff for third in franchise history with 129 career homers.
“It’s cool. We passed some really big-name guys and some people that have played for a really long time,” Lowe said. “It’s a really awesome thing to be on that list in general, but there’s still quite a bit of work to do.”
He trails Evan Longoria (261) and Carlos Pena (163).
Tampa Bay will try to recover by sending Drew Rasmussen (1-0, 0.00 ERA) to the mound against the Rangers’ Kumar Rocker (0-1, 18.00) in a battle of right-handers.
Rasmussen opened his season with five innings of shutout ball in a win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on March 31. He scattered two hits, struck out four and walked no one.
It was Rasmussen’s first start, not counting “opener” assignments, since May 11, 2023, before he underwent his third major elbow surgery.
“He as much as anybody is committed to the strike zone,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said March 31. “I think he knows that he can get outs with the best of them in the zone.”
In his one career start against Texas, Rasmussen was dinged for five runs on five hits in three innings in a loss.
Rocker will face Tampa Bay for the first time in his career. He gave up six runs on seven hits in three innings of a 14-3 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on March 31.
–Field Level Media
This news was originally published on this post .
About the author
Jimmy Butler has Warriors on brink of eliminating Rockets in Game 5
Apr 28, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) celebrates with forward Jimmy Butler III (10) after a play against the Houston Rockets during the fourth quarter of game four of the 2025 NBA Playoffs first round at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images The Golden State Warriors produced a determined effort to outlast the Houston Rockets in Game 3 of this Western Conference first-round series without Jimmy Butler on Saturday, with the reward for their perseverance manifesting in Butler carrying Golden State down the stretch and through the finish line in Game 4 on Monday. Hobbled by a lower-body injury sustained in the second game, one that sidelined him in Game 3, Butler powered the Warriors to a 109-106 victory in Game 4 and a commanding 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. […]
Patriots release longtime LS Joe Cardona
Dec 1, 2024; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots long snapper Joe Cardona (49) walks out of the player's tunnel before a game against the Indianapolis Colts at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images Long snapper Joe Cardona, who won two Super Bowls in 10 seasons with the New England Patriots and was their longest-tenured player, was released by the team on Tuesday. Cardona, 33, joined the Patriots out of Navy as a fifth-round pick in the 2015 draft. He played in 160 regular-season games -- including 16 last season -- and 13 postseason games. He was a member of the Super Bowl LI and Super Bowl LIII champions. The Patriots drafted Cardona's potential successor, Vanderbilt long snapper Julian Ashby, in the seventh round of last weekend's NFL draft. --Field Level Media
Stanley Cup Playoffs Bring Chaos, Not Clarity, Through First 10 Days
The first 10 days of the Stanley Cup Playoffs have provided plenty of excitement and suspense — but little separation.That’s especially been the case in the clustered eight-team Western Conference, where establishing a clear favorite has been virtually impossible. Each of the four first-round series in the West were knotted 2-2 before the Dallas Stars became the first to break the deadlock with a 6-2 win against the visiting Colorado Avalanche in Game 5 on Monday night, giving them a 3-2 lead in their best-of-seven series. Dallas coach Pete DeBoer said after the win that he sensed many doubted the Stars following their 4-0 loss in Game 4. “They feed off people doubting them,” DeBoer said. On the other hand, many expected the Winnipeg Jets to breeze through the first round after winning the Presidents’ Trophy with the best record […]
Bam Adebayo predicts ‘changes’ will come to Heat this offseason
<!--> The Miami Heat are one of the premier franchises in the NBA. A model of consistency, they have made the playoffs in each of the last six seasons, and in 14 of the last 17 years. They went on to win the NBA Championship in both 2012 and 2013. Simply put, they don't tend to do rebuilds. That's not something their team President, Pat Riley, subscribes to. And he holds the power. The Heat's players know that, and are aware that, when they don't produce, hard decisions and changes will be made because Riley expects a certain standard.Miami center Bam Adebayo is certainly self-aware. Following the Heat's embarrassing and lopsided first-round sweep at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers, he spoke about the ramifications that may be on the horizon."There's going to be a lot of changes this summer," Adebayo […]
NFL Draft breaks viewership record on Saturday amid Shedeur Sanders’ slide, up 27% from last year
This year’s NFL Draft, at least when it comes to viewership and attendance numbers, was a massive success.The league and ESPN announced on Tuesday that the NFL Draft was the second most-watched draft in history. Only the 2020 NFL Draft, which came during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, performed better. About 7.5 million people tuned in to watch the draft across all channels this spring, which is up 27% from last year.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementSaturday was the most-watched third day of the draft ever, too, with about 4.3 million average viewers tuning in to watch the final rounds of the event — which is historically the least-watched day of the three. That’s likely due to, at least in part, Shedeur Sanders’ slide. The Colorado quarterback, who many expected to be a first-round pick, ended up being selected by the Cleveland Browns […]
Technology glitches mar second day of testimony at Hockey Canada trial
LONDON, Ont. — The Crown showed jurors a number of surveillance videos and at least one photo from social media during Tuesday’s proceedings in the Hockey Canada sexual assault trial, which were cut short by technical issues.In a sweltering hot courtroom on her second day of testimony, London Police detective Tiffany Waque, the Crown’s first witness, played clips of videos that showed players from the 2018 Canadian World Juniors team and the complainant in the Hockey Canada sexual assault trial drinking, talking at the bar and dancing at Jack’s — a bar and nightclub on Richmond Street that is popular amongst university and college students.AdvertisementThe video clips from a June evening in 2018, prior to the alleged incident at the Delta Armouries Hotel, are the first pieces of evidence presented in the Crown’s case against the five defendants. Michael McLeod, […]
Related
Jimmy Butler has Warriors on brink of eliminating Rockets in Game 5
Apr 28, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) celebrates with forward Jimmy Butler III (10) after a play against the Houston Rockets during the fourth quarter of game four of the 2025 NBA Playoffs first round at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images The Golden State Warriors produced a determined effort to outlast the Houston Rockets in Game 3 of this Western Conference first-round series without Jimmy Butler on Saturday, with the reward for their perseverance manifesting in Butler carrying Golden State down the stretch and through the finish line in Game 4 on Monday. Hobbled by a lower-body injury sustained in the second game, one that sidelined him in Game 3, Butler powered the Warriors to a 109-106 victory in Game 4 and a commanding 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. […]
Patriots release longtime LS Joe Cardona
Dec 1, 2024; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots long snapper Joe Cardona (49) walks out of the player's tunnel before a game against the Indianapolis Colts at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images Long snapper Joe Cardona, who won two Super Bowls in 10 seasons with the New England Patriots and was their longest-tenured player, was released by the team on Tuesday. Cardona, 33, joined the Patriots out of Navy as a fifth-round pick in the 2015 draft. He played in 160 regular-season games -- including 16 last season -- and 13 postseason games. He was a member of the Super Bowl LI and Super Bowl LIII champions. The Patriots drafted Cardona's potential successor, Vanderbilt long snapper Julian Ashby, in the seventh round of last weekend's NFL draft. --Field Level Media
Stanley Cup Playoffs Bring Chaos, Not Clarity, Through First 10 Days
The first 10 days of the Stanley Cup Playoffs have provided plenty of excitement and suspense — but little separation.That’s especially been the case in the clustered eight-team Western Conference, where establishing a clear favorite has been virtually impossible. Each of the four first-round series in the West were knotted 2-2 before the Dallas Stars became the first to break the deadlock with a 6-2 win against the visiting Colorado Avalanche in Game 5 on Monday night, giving them a 3-2 lead in their best-of-seven series. Dallas coach Pete DeBoer said after the win that he sensed many doubted the Stars following their 4-0 loss in Game 4. “They feed off people doubting them,” DeBoer said. On the other hand, many expected the Winnipeg Jets to breeze through the first round after winning the Presidents’ Trophy with the best record […]
Bam Adebayo predicts ‘changes’ will come to Heat this offseason
<!--> The Miami Heat are one of the premier franchises in the NBA. A model of consistency, they have made the playoffs in each of the last six seasons, and in 14 of the last 17 years. They went on to win the NBA Championship in both 2012 and 2013. Simply put, they don't tend to do rebuilds. That's not something their team President, Pat Riley, subscribes to. And he holds the power. The Heat's players know that, and are aware that, when they don't produce, hard decisions and changes will be made because Riley expects a certain standard.Miami center Bam Adebayo is certainly self-aware. Following the Heat's embarrassing and lopsided first-round sweep at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers, he spoke about the ramifications that may be on the horizon."There's going to be a lot of changes this summer," Adebayo […]
NFL Draft breaks viewership record on Saturday amid Shedeur Sanders’ slide, up 27% from last year
This year’s NFL Draft, at least when it comes to viewership and attendance numbers, was a massive success.The league and ESPN announced on Tuesday that the NFL Draft was the second most-watched draft in history. Only the 2020 NFL Draft, which came during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, performed better. About 7.5 million people tuned in to watch the draft across all channels this spring, which is up 27% from last year.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementSaturday was the most-watched third day of the draft ever, too, with about 4.3 million average viewers tuning in to watch the final rounds of the event — which is historically the least-watched day of the three. That’s likely due to, at least in part, Shedeur Sanders’ slide. The Colorado quarterback, who many expected to be a first-round pick, ended up being selected by the Cleveland Browns […]
Technology glitches mar second day of testimony at Hockey Canada trial
LONDON, Ont. — The Crown showed jurors a number of surveillance videos and at least one photo from social media during Tuesday’s proceedings in the Hockey Canada sexual assault trial, which were cut short by technical issues.In a sweltering hot courtroom on her second day of testimony, London Police detective Tiffany Waque, the Crown’s first witness, played clips of videos that showed players from the 2018 Canadian World Juniors team and the complainant in the Hockey Canada sexual assault trial drinking, talking at the bar and dancing at Jack’s — a bar and nightclub on Richmond Street that is popular amongst university and college students.AdvertisementThe video clips from a June evening in 2018, prior to the alleged incident at the Delta Armouries Hotel, are the first pieces of evidence presented in the Crown’s case against the five defendants. Michael McLeod, […]
Be the first to leave a comment