The Rangers beat the Reds today in Goodyear, 11-5, the club’s 3rd consecutive win. Texas is now 6-1-1 in Cactus League play, the team’s best start to any spring since moving to Surprise in 2003. Batters set spring highs in runs, hits (18), home runs (3), and extra-base hits (7), as the team had baserunners in every inning. Texas entered the day with MLB’s highest batting average and raised it 10 points to .368. The first 4 Texas pitchers held the Reds scoreless through 8 innings, as starter Chi Chi Gonzalez and Cesar Ramos each posted 3.0 shutout frames. The club’s 3 home runs today (by Mitch Moreland, Ian Desmond, and Drew Stubbs) came after 4 total home runs over the Rangers’ first 7 contests. The first 2 long balls registered minimal hang time, with Moreland’s line shot going out to right and Desmond’s blast landing in the Reds bullpen. Desmond went 2-for-3 today and is batting .400 (4-10) over his first 4 games with the Rangers. Ryan Rua went 2-for-3 with a walk and he now has a .500 (8-16) average and 1.279 OPS figure in A games. Joey Gallo had 2 walks and a line single in 3 plate appearances, and his team-high 6 walks are double the total of the next-closest Rangers. Ryan Cordell went 2-for-2 with a double and run scored. Cordell has reached safely in 6 consecutive plate appearances (2 singles, 3 doubles, walk) and is 6-for-8 in A games. James Jones had 2 hits and is batting .400 (6-15) this spring, with Texas going 6-0 when he plays. Minor leaguer Ronald Guzman singled and doubled, and he is 5-for-11 (.455) in 5 A game appearances.
Texas will look to keep its win streak alive tomorrow in the first TV game of the spring at 2:05 p.m. CDT game against the Chicago White Sox in Surprise. The game is slated to be televised on Fox Sports Southwest, with Steve Busby and Tom Grieve calling the action. RHP Nick Martinez (0-0, 0.00) is scheduled to start against Sox LHP Jose Quintana (1st game). Tomorrow morning, LHP Cole Hamels and LHP Martin Perez are scheduled to pitch in a minor league game.
