Rangers 11, Palms 3

Sunday, June 28, 2020 – Coca-Cola Palms Park

By Vin Castillo

What began as a promising homestand has quickly turned into something else entirely.

The Texas Rangers completed a series win—and did so emphatically—pounding out 16 hits in an 11–3 rout of the Miami Palms on Sunday afternoon. The loss drops Miami to 42–43, their first dip below .500 since climbing back into contention earlier in the month.

“We just got beat,” manager Scott Hatteberg said bluntly. “Across the board.”

Third-Inning Collapse

For two innings, the Palms and Blake Johnston traded zeros.

Then came the third—and with it, the unraveling.

Texas sent 11 men to the plate, tagging Johnston for six runs on a barrage of hits that never quite stopped. The inning featured a little of everything: line drives, well-placed grounders, and a sense that nothing Miami threw could disrupt the rhythm.

“We couldn’t stop the momentum,” Johnston said. “That’s on me. I’ve got to find a way to shut that down sooner.”

No Letup from Texas

If the third inning cracked the game open, the middle innings slammed the door.

The Rangers added three more runs in the sixth, powered by continued traffic and timely hitting. Elvis Andrus led the charge with a five-hit day, while the Rangers lineup produced power throughout—home runs from Andrus, Nick Solak, Joey Gallo, Shin-Soo Choo, and Greg Bird.

By the time the dust settled, Texas had homered five times and controlled the game from start to finish.

Offense Shows Life—Too Late

Miami wasn’t completely silent.

Jason Roeder turned in a standout performance with three hits and two runs scored, continuing to make a case for more consistent playing time. Matt Koch added a two-run homer late, and accounted for all of the Palms’ scoring.

But much like the previous two games in the series, the offense arrived too late and too inconsistently.

“We had hits,” Hatteberg said. “We just didn’t have them when it mattered.”

Rotation Questions Persist

Johnston’s outing—6 runs in 4 innings—puts a spotlight back on the back end of the rotation, a group that has struggled to provide stability.

The bullpen didn’t fare much better, as Wandy Peralta and Cody Allen combined to allow five additional runs.

It’s the kind of game that tests depth—and exposes it.

A Rough Turn

Just days ago, the Palms were riding momentum from a dominant win and a strong outing by Dylan Bundy. Now, they limp out of the weekend having dropped two straight to Texas, allowing 16 runs over the final two games of the set.

Layer in the loss of Matt Wieters to the injured list, and the challenges are beginning to stack.

“We’ve got to reset,” Hatteberg said. “Flush this one and get ready for tomorrow.”

Looking Ahead

There’s no time to dwell.

The homestand continues, and the Palms will need to rediscover both their pitching rhythm and offensive timing quickly if they hope to keep pace in the American League race.

Because if this weekend showed anything, it’s this:

When things slip for this team, they can slip fast.

  Texas Rangers 11, Miami Palms 3

 Sunday, June 28, 2020

 

 

 Texas Rangers (4-3)                                      Miami Palms (42-43)                                     

 Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P  A  E LOB   Ave      Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P  A  E LOB   Ave      

 ------          -- -  - -- -- --  -  -  - ---   ---      ------          -- -  - -- -- --  -  -  - ---   ---      

 Andrus ss       5  3  5  3  0  0  3  1  0  0   .500      Gardner cf      4  0  2  0  1  0  5  0  0  0   .317

 Solak lf        5  1  1  2  0  2  2  0  0  0   .200      Munoz ss        5  0  0  0  0  0  2  0  0  3   .282

 Santana cf      5  1  2  1  0  2  3  0  0  1   .333      Koch 2b         5  1  2  3  0  1  1  2  0  0   .271

 Gallo rf        5  1  1  2  0  0  5  0  0  2   .292      Encarnacion 1b  4  0  1  0  0  2  5  0  0  1   .266

 Odor 2b         5  1  2  0  0  2  2  3  0  0   .357      Korb 3b         4  0  2  0  0  1  0  2  0  0   .276

 Choo dh         4  1  1  2  1  0  0  0  0  0   .182      Sohn rf         4  0  1  0  0  1  3  0  0  3   .269

 Frazier 3b      5  1  2  0  0  0  0  1  0  1   .200      Holt lf         3  0  0  0  0  0  2  0  0  2   .264

 Bird 1b         5  1  1  1  0  2  5  1  0  2   .200      Castillo c      3  0  0  0  1  0  9  0  0  1   .217

 Federowicz c    4  1  1  0  0  1  5  1  0  0   .200      Roeder dh       4  2  3  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   .289

 

                 -- -  - -- -- -- -- -- -- ---                            -- -  - -- -- -- -- -- -- ---            

 Totals          43 11 16 11 1  9  27 8  0  6             Totals          36 3  11 3  2  5  27 4  0  10 

 

 

                       1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10     R  H  E

                       -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -      -  -  -

 Texas Rangers         0  0  6  0  0  3  0  2  0         11 16 0  

 Miami Palms           0  0  1  0  0  0  0  0  2         3  11 0  

 

 

 

 LOB- Texas Rangers 6, Miami Palms 10; 2B- Andrus 2(2), Frazier(1), Gardner(11), Roeder(2);

 HR- Andrus(2), Solak(1), Gallo(1), Choo(1), Bird(1), Koch(11); RBI- Andrus 3(5),

 Solak 2(2), Santana(4), Gallo 2(4), Choo 2(3), Bird(1), Koch 3(33); GIDP- Castillo(2),

 Sohn(2); RLSP- Santana, Bird, Encarnacion, Holt, Sohn 2, Munoz 2;  

 

 DP- Texas Rangers 2;  

  

 

 

 Texas Rangers            IP   H  R  ER BB SO    ERA

 Kluber(W 1-0)            5.0  7  1  1  2  3    1.80  

 Martin                   2.0  1  0  0  0  2    2.25  

 Goody                    2.0  3  2  2  0  0    5.40  

 

 Miami Palms              IP   H  R  ER BB SO    ERA

 Johnston(L 6-9)          4.0  9  6  6  0  4    4.65  

 Peralta                  2.0  3  3  3  0  2    3.92  

 Allen                    2.0  3  2  2  1  2    4.15  

 Matusz                   1.0  1  0  0  0  1    4.36  

 

 Pitches-strikes- Kluber 68-41, Martin 18-14, Goody 12-9, Johnston 65-41, Peralta 26-19,

 Allen 25-17, Matusz 7-7; Batters faced- Kluber 25, Martin 7, Goody 8, Johnston 21,

 Peralta 9, Allen 10, Matusz 4; 


 HBP- Holt(by Kluber), Encarnacion(by Kluber);  

 

  

 Temp - 92, Sky - Mostly cloudy, Wind - SE 6 MPH 

 

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