The Rangers lost to the Indians, 7-2, on Sunday afternoon in Goodyear.
The Texas offense managed only 3 hits, including a solo home run by John Hicks in the 9th inning. Andy Ibanez and Charlie Culberson both singled. The club’s other run was scored in the 7th, as Delino DeShields walked, stole second base, and scored on an error. Rangers batters struck out a spring-high 18 times.
Starter Taylor Hearn (3.0 IP, 4 R-1 ER) took the loss despite allowing just 2 hits. He exited with 2 outs in the 2nd inning after allowing 3 runs that were unearned due to an Ibanez error, and re-entered to begin the 3rd inning. It was the 2nd time for Texas to employ the pitcher re-entry rule that is in place during spring training. Cleveland’s Franmil Reyes and Cesar Hernandez each homered off Texas relievers. Nick Vincent and Brett de Geus both logged one scoreless inning, as the pair combined to retire all 6 batters faced.
The Rangers also played a B game on Sunday morning in Surprise, dropping a 5-3 decision to the Royals in 8 innings. Starter Kohei Arihara (4.1 IP, 3 R-ER) threw 47 pitches in his outing. Hunter Wood had 3 strikeouts in his one scoreless inning. Jonah Heim (2-for-3, 2B, RBI), Sherten Apostel (2-for-3, 2B, RBI), and Cody Freeman (2-for-3, RBI) all recorded multiple hits for Texas. The clubs are also slated to play B games tomorrow (RHP Kyle Gibson will start) and Wednesday in Surprise.
The Rangers journey to Scottsdale on Monday to face the Colorado Rockies at 3:10 p.m. CT. RHP Dane Dunning (0-0, 0.00) will start for Texas opposite Rockies RHP German Marquez (0-0, 4.91). There will be no Rangers TV or radio broadcast.