Rangers ace pitcher MartÃn Pérez has not had much run support since the All-Star game, which he entered boasting a record of 7-2, but runs were plentiful on Wednesday night in Colorado. The Rangers bashed out 19 hits on their way to a 16-4 victory, giving Perez — also known as El De Las Matas — a long-awaited win.
“Tenth victory,” Perez said on Instagram. “We keep adding, leaving everything on the field. Let’s Go Rangers.”
Perez did his fair share of work while his teammates battered Rockies pitchers, tossing six scoreless innings, allowing four hits, walking one, and fanning seven.
The win pushes Perez to 10-4 and dips his ERA on the year to 2.69, seventh best in the AL. Houston’s Justin Verlander is tops with a 1.87 ERA and a 16-3 record.
The Rangers notched nine runs in the first two innings and added another seven in the final two.
Nathaniel Lowe, who went 3-for-6 with five RBI, cranked his 20th homer of the season, giving Texas four hitters — along with Corey Seager (26), Marcus Semien (20), and Adolis Garcia (20) — who have 20 or more homers on the season. The Rangers are the only MLB team that can make that claim.
Garcia, who has also nabbed 20 bases this year, extended his hitting streak to 21 games in the win, the second longest streak in the AL behind Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who has hit 22 in 22 straight games.
Rangers reliever Dennis Santana – fresh off the 15-day disabled list – entered the contest after Perez’s exit and got knocked around mightily. He earned just one out while yielding four earned runs on five hits before being yanked for Josh Sborz, who stopped the Rockies’ rally, retiring two, one via strikeout.
José Leclerc and Moore pitched the final two frames and combined for three strikeouts while neither allowed a base runner.
The Rangers have an off day on Thursday as they travel home to Arlington for a quick five-game homestand — three against Detroit and two versus Houston — before starting a road trip in September, which takes them to Boston and Houston.
Probable pitchers for the Friday night contest at Globe Life Feld are Glenn Otto (5-8, 4.66) for Texas against Detroit’s Tyler Alexander (3-7, 4.03). The game against the Tigers is also 2010s 50th Anniversary Rangers Baseball Cards Night, with the first 15,000 people in attendance receiving the souvenirs.
