The Texas Rangers, led by standout performances from Nick Solak and Lance Lynn, edged out the Rockies 3-2 in the opening game of a three-game series. Lynn, who shut out the Rockies at Globe Life Field on Opening Day, kept Rockies hitters off-balance all night long tallying 6 strikeouts in a complete game effort. Solak did the heavy lifting at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two doubles and a home run. The loss puts the Rockies record at 12-7 and drops them to second place in the NL West, a half-game behind the Dodgers.
Dynamic Duo
Ryan Castellani didn’t disappoint in his second career start. Castellani, a second-round pick out of Brophy College Preparatory high school (Phoenix, AZ) in 2014, consistently pounded the strike zone and challenged multiple hitters to 3-2 counts, many of which ended in strikeouts. He was able to keep the Rangers off the board until Nick Solak slammed an opposite field home run in the fourth inning to tie the game at 1-1. Similar to his first start, Castellani was pulled from the game in the fourth inning after his pitch count reached 88 with Jeff Hoffman coming on in relief. The final line for Castellani was 4 ⅔ IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 7 K. Hoffman looked sharp as well, picking up the final out in the fifth and getting through the sixth and seventh innings yielding just one run in the sixth on a Rougned Odor RBI single.
Capitalizing on Rangers’s miscues
The Rangers struggled to field the ball throughout the course of the game and the Rockies seized these opportunities. In the first inning, Garrett Hampson led off with an infield single on a ball that could have been ruled an error. He ended up scoring later in the inning on an RBI groundout by Nolan Arenado, which initially could have been a double play but Todd Frazier bobbled the ball trying to pull it out of his glove. In the sixth, Tony Wolters ended up on second base after a dribbler to the catcher when Jeff Mathis air-mailed his throw to first over Frazier’s head. He later scored on a Trevor Story ground ball that somehow got through the glove of Elvis Andrus.
Two hits
The Rockies looked like they were going to score runs in bunches in this one when they started the game with the first two hitters getting singles. Those ended up being the only two hits all game for the Rockies as Lance Lynn bared down and fooled them for the rest of the game going the distance for a complete game, a rare feat in Coors Field. Lynn’s final line was 9 IP, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 6 K.
Up Next
The Rockies return to Coors tomorrow for Game 2 of the three-game set. German Márquez (2-2, 2.08 ERA) will take on Kyle Gibson (0-2, 4.11 ERA).