A perfect combination of superb pitching and an offensive onslaught led the Rangers to a 9-2 win over the Indians in Monday’s series opener at Progressive Field. Cleveland starter Josh Tomlin took his first defeat of the season.
Tomlin entered Monday’s contest with a 7-0 record, but he had his shortest outing of the season as he went 3 2/3 innings, surrendering eight runs (four earned) en route to a loss. Cleveland first baseman Mike Napoli provided the lone scoring output off Texas starter Derek Holland with a solo homer in the sixth, marking his team-leading 11th blast of the season.
“That was a good win all around,” Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. “We were able to get on the board early against a guy who was 7-0 and we were able to capitalize on their mistakes. Derek threw the ball well.”
Texas piled up the runs in bunches early on, scoring in each of the first four innings. Ian Desmond started the scoring with a two-run homer in the first inning. The Rangers scored one in the second and two more in the third. Then, the gates were completely blown open with a four-run fourth inning — capped off by a three-run home run from right fielder Nomar Mazara.
Per Statcast™, Mazara’s shot to straightaway center was projected to land 448 feet away from home plate and had an exit velocity of 110.6 mph. It was Mazara’s ninth homer of his rookie season.
“I just didn’t execute the pitches when I needed to execute them today and put our team in a bad spot early on,” Tomlin said. “And [Texas] just kept building on that first inning, and I didn’t limit the damage enough. And once they kind of tasted blood, they just kept piling it on.”
The outpouring of offense gave Holland (4-4) more than enough cushion to silence Cleveland’s offense. The left-hander went six innings, giving up one run on six hits. It was his first win since April 30. After Holland’s exit, reliever Cesar Ramos surrendered a home run to Cleveland’s Marlon Byrd.
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