SURPRISE, Ariz. — The Rangers lost to the Reds on Tuesday in Surprise, 7-1. On a day that seemed primed for offense with the wind blowing out, the Rangers were held to their lowest scoring output since 3/19 vs. MIL (11-0 loss) after entering the day as MLB’s highest-scoring offensive unit this spring.
Brad Miller doubled to lead off the bottom of the 1st for Texas, which was then held without a hit until Nick Solak’s 2-bagger in the 4th inning. Miller in 6 G this spring: .421/.421/1.000/1.421 (8-19), 3 HR, 2 2B, 6 RBI. The Rangers scored their only run in the 3rd inning, when Jake Marisnick reached on an error and proceeded to score on an RBI groundout by Yonny Hernandez later in the frame.
Spencer Howard turned in a solid start in his 2nd outing of the exhibition slate, allowing one run over 3.0 innings of work, striking out 3, and walking none. The right-hander has allowed just the one run over 5.0 innings spanning his 2 spring outings (1.80 ERA). Texas pitchers issued a spring-high 8 walks, including 4 in a 4th inning that saw the Reds plate 2 runs without the benefit of a hit.
The Rangers also played a ‘B’ game against Kansas City this afternoon on the back fields in Surprise and lost 3-0. Jon Gray, who today was announced as the club’s Opening Day starter for April 8 at Toronto, was the starting pitcher for that game. His line: 3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 SO, 42 pitches/28 strikes. Michael A. Taylor hit a 3-run home run off Nick Tropeano for the game’s only runs. Josh Smith went 1-for-2 with a triple and Chase Lee struck out 3 of 4 batters faced in one scoreless inning.
The Rangers travel to Glendale on Wednesday for a 3:05 p.m. CT matchup against the Chicago White Sox. LHP Martín Pérez is slated to make his first Cactus League appearance of the spring for Texas in a start against White Sox RHP Dylan Cease (0-1, 3.00). Eric Nadel and Jared Sandler will be on the call for an audio webcast on texasrangers.com and the MLB At-Bat App.
From Rangers PR staff reports
