Leclerc takes loss as A’s beat Rangers
ARLINGTON, Texas — Jose Leclerc got the ninth inning for the first time in a while in a 3-3 game and had two outs with on one against Marcus Semien on Friday.
It didn’t go as planned in the Rangers’ 5-3 loss at Globe Life Park.
Semien connected for a two-run homer, giving him a 4-for-5 night with two homers, and giving all those who think Leclerc is a waste of bullpen space a chance to rant and rave.
Leclerc, the deposed closer, was the choice because Shawn Kelley, the acting closer, was not available. It wasn’t a save situation, but closers frequently pitch the ninth inning if the score is tied.
Manager Chris Woodward said that he liked the way Leclerc competed and challenged Semien. And if a cue shot by Jurickson Profar doesn’t just stay fair, Leclerc tosses a scoreless inning.
Woodward said that no one has lost any confidence in Leclerc based on that inning.
“He just got beat,” Woodward said. “I’m not at all alarmed about that.”
The alarming thing was the number of times the Rangers couldn’t convert chances offensively. They had an opportunity in the fourth, when it looked like they would have the bases loaded with one out.
Instead, Logan Forsythe slipped and fell between third and home and was tagged out.
After taking a 3-2 lead with a threerun sixth, an Elvis Andrus error led to an unearned run that tied the game in the seventh. In the bottom half, the Rangers loaded the bases with one out, but Forsythe struck out and Andrus flied to the warning track.
The Rangers had Nomar Mazara at second with no outs in the eighth but didn’t even get him to third.
“We had a ton of opportunities,” Woodward said. “I think we left 20 on base (it was nine). We had opportunity after opportunity.”
The Rangers went 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position.
As Lance Lynn said after allowing two runs in six innings, “That’s baseball.”
The Rangers have right-hander Phillips Valdez in town to be the 26th player for Saturday’s doubleheader, but he’s a go only if they decide they don’t need an extra outfielder as they wait for Shin-Soo Choo’s hand to heal.
Choo went for an MRI on his left hand, which was hit by a pitch Wednesday night. He didn’t play Thursday, and it was still sore Friday. X-rays were negative Wednesday, but you never know.
Choo was in uniform and on the bench Friday, and his hand wasn’t in cast. He said the MRI showed no new damage, which would seem to be good news. Right?
Well, he said that he can barely swing but will try to play one of the two games Saturday.
“If I can’t swing with 30% bat speed, how can I hit?” Choo said. “It sucks.”
The reason for Valdez, who has been starting at Triple-A Nashville, is for length out of the bullpen in left-hander Joe Palumbo doesn’t last long in his MLB debut in the first game.
Palumbo is averaging five innings per outing at Double A Frisco. He doesn’t have a decision in 10 games/nine starts, and his ERA is 3.38. Opponents are hitting .222 against him, and right-handed hitters have a .256 average.
That’s significant because of all the right-handed hitters the A’s can stack against lefties. Palumbo didn’t see to deterred by the task ahead of him. He wants to leave a favorable impression. He could be an option if the Rangers decide to do something with Drew Smyly’s spot in the rotation.
“That’s definitely the goal, but right now I’m extremely happy to be here and I’m excited for the start tomorrow,” Palumbo said. “I’m just going to show the Rangers what I can do.”
Palumbo is a fastball-curveball pitcher, not unlike Smyly but with more velocity. He said that his changeup has improved the more he has worked on it during bullpen sessions and on flat ground.
He is on the 40-man roster but will need a spot on the 25-man roster, which means someone will have to be optioned to Nashville. Valdez will need to go on the 40-man roster.
It’s a mess, and moves could follow Sunday.
That’s baseball.
So is the situation at catcher. The Rangers needed one after Isiah KinerFalefa sprained his middle finger Thursday night, so they dipped into the minor leagues to find his replacement.
Just not their minor leagues. The Rangers struck a trade late Thursday night with the Cleveland Indians for Tim Federowicz, who was at Triple A Columbus and doing a decent job hitting and receiving. The Rangers deemed he was doing a better job than Nashville catchers Jett Bandy and Adam Moore.
Jose Trevino would have been the easy choice, but he’s out with a strained quadriceps. Frisco catcher Tony Sanchez would have been the choice, but he’s also injured.
So, Federowicz was given the news after midnight and flew to Arlington on Friday morning. He’s no stranger to this situation. The Rangers are his ninth organization and seventh bigleague team.
All he had to do Friday was try to learn the entire pitching staff, starting with Palumbo.
“You don’t know how long it’s going to be, so you just have to get everything as soon as possible and get ready to play,” Federowicz said. “I’ve learned a lot of new pitching staffs. Every year’s been a new team. It’s something I’m used to at this point.”
The Rangers aren’t expecting KinerFalefa to miss much time with an injury that does not require surgery. The low estimate is 10-12 days, Woodward said, but it shouldn’t be more than three weeks.