Texas Rangers Fall to Defending Champs 6-3

Texas Rangers’ 6-3 loss to the visiting World Champion Atlanta Braves on April 29 is the fourth consecutive loss for the Rangers and drops them to 6-14, equaling the team’s worst start since 2002.

Adolis García hit his fourth home run of the season in the bottom of the second inning and then earned his second run during the bottom of the sixth, but the two runs only lightly dented the visiting Braves’ six runs already amassed heading into the seven-inning stretch.

“He’s got a couple of good swings off obviously and had a couple homers,” Texas Rangers Head Coach Chris Woodward said in the post-game press conference. “I think it’s going to kind of morph into getting the ball in the air a little bit more. He hit a ball really hard up the middle on the ground. His swing looks better. His timing looks a little bit better. He’s getting on the fastball a little better.”

Garrett Richards got his second start of the season but exited after one inning of work, allowing two runs on two hits (one a two-run homer to Austin Riley) and one walk before getting the hook. Richards earned the loss in the contest.

Texas used six pitchers in the loss, highlighted by Kolby Allard, who twirled through 2.2 innings, giving up just one hit while striking out two Braves batters (Allard was a first-round pick by Atlanta in 2015).

The Braves got six innings from starting pitcher Ian Anderson, who allowed two runs on three high while walking one and fanning five. The Braves pitchers limited Texas to just .181 at the plate on the night (6-for-30) and were 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position.

Aside from García’s two RBIs, Corey Seager knocked in RBI 11 of the season when he hit a solo homer in the bottom of the eighth inning, his third of the year (and the second contest in a row he has knocked a four-seam fastball into the bleachers).

There were 25,829 fans in attendance in Arlington on a night when the temperature reached 72° at game time, and the stadium’s roof closed.

Braves right-hander Bryce Elder will face Texas Rangers right-hander Dane Dunning in Saturday’s game, which begins at 7:05 p.m. ET.