The Mets slid past Texas on Friday in Queens, New York, using a fourth-inning scoring surge to sink the Rangers in a 4-3 affair.
Rangers’ righty rookie Glenn Otto got the starting nod for the Rangers as they opened a three-game stand with the Mets at Citi Field. In his previous 16 career starts, he has struggled with allowing runs, with an ERA of 6.85 (down to 5.63 in 2022).
The Rice University alum was dominant on Friday night through the first three innings. He allowed just three base runners — a hit, a hit batsman, and base on balls — while holding a 1-0 lead heading into the fourth after Marcus Semien popped a two-out homer into the left-center bleachers in the top of the inning.
The Rangers faltered in the bottom of the fourth frame as Otto was tagged with three hits, the last coming on a 90.2 MPH four-seam fastball that Eduardo Escobar drilled to rightfield for a three-run homer and a Mets 4-1 lead.
Otto finished his outing with a stat-line of four earned runs on four hits in four innings, allowing three walks and one strikeout. His record on the season leveled out at 4-4 with the loss.
The Rangers bullpen combined to toss the final four frames and allowed just two hits and a walk while collecting five strikeouts. Brock Burke spelled Otto and lasted through the sixth; Garrett Richards was spotless in the seventh, and Brett Martin fanned two in the eighth.
Texas was able to stay relevant in the game as Adolis Garcia (50) and Nathanial Lowe (33) were each able to earn RBI knocks in the fifth and sixth. But when Mets starter David Peterson departed in the seventh, New York’s bullpen would allow just one runner through the next three innings — a single by Josh H. Smith — slamming the door on Texas on their way to their 4-3 win.
Peterson saw his record on the year rise to 5-1 after throwing six innings, allowing three runs on five hits with no walks and 10 strikeouts.
“[Peterson’s] slider was nasty tonight,” Chris Woodward, the Rangers’ skipper, told MLB.com. “Guys were getting frustrated because he just wasn’t leaving anything out over the plate. He was burying the right-handed slider in on guys and wiping out the lefties away from it. It was good stuff.”
Texas dropped to 36-39 with the team’s second consecutive loss. Houston (49-27), winners of their last four, pushed their AL West lead to 12.5 games over the Rangers (36-39) and 13.5 games ahead of third-place Los Angeles and Seattle (37-42.)Â AL West cellar-dwelling Oakland holds the worst record in MLB this season at 26-53Â and has been reportedly seeking relocation to Las Vegas recently, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Game two for the Rangers against the Mets is slated for a 3:10 p.m. CDT start time with Texas ace Martin Perez (6-2, 2.22) penciled in for the Rangers on the bump and Trevor Williams (1-4, 3.64) handling pitching duties for New York.
