close
close

Reds and Andrew Abbott want to win the series against world champions Texas Rangers today

Dane Dunning takes the mound on Sunday afternoon as the defending World Series champion Texas Rangers look to win their first home series since March when they host the Cincinnati Reds in the rubber game of their three-game series.

Dunning (2-2, 4.61 ERA) has made just one career appearance against the Reds and comes into the game with a 0-0 record and a 10.80 ERA. Opposite the right-hander is left-hander Andrew Abbott (1-2, 2.60), who will face the Rangers for the first time in his career.

Texas, behind two solo homers from Evan Carter and Marcus Semien, won the series opener 2-1 on Friday, but the Reds bounced back with an 8-4 victory on Saturday as Hunter Greene allowed just one hit, and evened the series over seven shutout innings and Jonathan India went 4-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs.

Reds comment Fernando Cruz New “King Cobra” in town for the Cincinnati Reds: the dangerous Fernando Cruz | Press Box Wag

Reds Rangers Hunter Greene Hunter Greene once again flashes promising brilliance in the Cincinnati Reds' victory over the Texas Rangers

Reds injured TJ Friedl Cincinnati Reds CF TJ Friedl set to return to IL; begins minor league rehab assignment in midweek

The Rangers opened the season with two of three games against the Chicago Cubs March 28-31, but have not won another home series since, including losses in two of three games to American League West Division rivals Seattle and Oakland.

“They want to win series, especially in our division,” Texas manager Bruce Bochy said.

Part of the problem was the team's offense. World Series MVP Corey Seager, who missed most of spring training after sports hernia surgery, is batting just .247 and hit just his second home run of the season in Saturday's loss. Carter is hitting .213 with five home runs while rookie outfielder Wyatt Langford, the star of spring training, is hitting. 245 and is still looking for his first home run.

“These guys are people,” Bochy told MLB.com. “With Corey, come on, we know he’s going to score. The guy missed all of spring training and really wasn't able to do much this winter. … He's one of the best hitters in the game, so I'm not worried about Corey. It will be fine. He’s going to get his hits, his home runs.”

When it comes to talented rookies like Carter and Langford, Bochy preaches patience.

“At the beginning of the season there is so much emphasis on a player’s performance that there is a lot of excitement for them,” said Bochy.

Semien is batting .261 with five home runs.

“We can only look forward and continue to improve,” said Semien. “Obviously Corey and I want to set the table for the batsmen in the middle. We have hot hitters in the middle of the lineup. If we’re on base and producing the way we can, we’ll be good to go.”

However, that wasn't the case in most of Saturday's defeats. Greene allowed just one fifth-inning double to Josh Smith in seven shutout innings. He walked one and struck out six, earning his first win of the season.

“He’s making progress — he did it today with his fastball command,” Reds manager David Bell said. “He threw a lot of fastballs – he kept them honest with his slider – but really he was on offense all day, so he managed to both go deep and limit the runs.” It was a great start.”

The Reds also got strong play from India, who entered the contest with a major league-worst .031 (1-for-37) away strikeout rate of 18. The four-hit game was the second of his career, while the four RBIs earlier in the contest tied his season total.

Tags:

You may also like...

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *