Rogers, Marisnick lead Tigers over Rangers
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DETROIT (AP) — Jake Rogers hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the sixth inning and Jake Marisnick followed with a run-scoring single in his Tigers debut, leading Detroit over the Texas Rangers 3-2 Wednesday.
“That was a fun one,” said Marisnick, who replaced injured Riley Greene in center. “The guys grinded out at-bats and the pitchers did a great job throwing strikes and keeping the game going.”
Texas took two of three and has won six straight road series for the first time. The Rangers went 18-9 in May and their 35-20 record is the team's best 55-game start.
“This was a really good trip and a really good month,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. "We played on the road a lot this month, and this trip was especially tough on the boys with day games after night games. I'm really proud of how they have played. It was a grind of a month and they handled it so well.”
Marcus Semien extended his hitting streak to 20 games with a double in the third.
With the score 1-1, Nick Maton and Tyler Nevin started the sixth with singles off Dane Dunning (4-1). Zack Short reached on a bunt single against Jonathan Hernández, loading the bases. and Rogers' sacrifice fly put Detroit ahead and Marisnick, acquired from the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday, singled for a 3-1 lead.
“It's been a bit of a whirlwind,” said Marisnick, who played for Tigers manager A.J. Hinch in Houston from 2015-19. “I had about an hour to get to the airport to get here.”
Nathaniel Lowe cut the deficit with an RBI single in the seventh against Chasen Shreve. Jason Foley struck out Adolis García, ending the inning and stranded a runner on third in the eighth when Will Smith hit an inning-ending groundout.
Will Vest (2-0) retired five straight batters. Alex Lange worked around Semien's one-out walk in a hitless ninth for his 10th save in 11 chances.
The win came one day after the Tigers lost Greene and ace left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez to significant injuries.
“It was frustrating to go through what we did, but regardless, the game was going to start at 1:10,” Hinch said. “You've got to play, and you've got to play hard against a first-place team.”
Dunning (4-1) allowed three runs and seven hits in five-plus innings.
Texas went 3 for 10 with runners in scoring position and stranded 10 runners.
Detroit went ahead in the third when, with runners at the corners and one out, Javier Báez hit a potential double-play chopper to third baseman Josh Jung. but Semien's relay to first sailed high.
Jung extended his hitting streak to 14 games in the fourth, moving within two of Elvis Andrus' Texas rookie record, and scored on Jonah Heim's single. Semien stranded the bases loaded with a popout.
“That was a huge turning point in the game,” Hinch said of starter Joey Wentz. “He got the out, and he should be very happy about how he pitched against a really good team.”
TRAINER'S ROOM
Tigers: Greene was put on the 10-day injured list with a stress fracture of his left fibula. Marisnick's contract was selected from Triple-A Toledo. Greene leads the team in batting average (.296), hits (60) and runs (29). Greene is expected to be out until at least July.
RANGERS: RHP Jacob deGrom (elbow) threw on Wednesday before heading to Florida to be with his wife for the birth of their child. Bochy said he will have tests when he returns next week in order to decide the next steps in his return. DeGrom has been sidelined since leaving a start against the New York Yankees on April 29.
UP NEXT
Rangers: RHP Jon Gray (5-1, 2.81) is scheduled to start Friday against visiting Seattle and RHP Luis Castillo (4-2, 2.69).
Tigers: RHP Reese Olson is scheduled to make his major league debut Friday at the Chicago White Sox. Olson is 2-3 with a 6.38 ERA in 10 starts at Triple-A Toledo.
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