MacKenzie Gore fired six innings of one-run ball, but it wasn't enough as the Texas Rangers fell to the San Diego Padres 6-4.
ARLINGTON, Texas -- Before the Texas Rangers even got ready to play Saturday afternoon’s game against the San Diego Padres, things already were out of sorts.
Nathan Eovaldi, the scheduled starter for the day, was scratched from the game due to soreness, forcing MacKenzie Gore to make his start a day early.
Gore not only stepped in but did so in a strong way, going six innings and allowing just one run, giving the Rangers a chance to win. Unfortunately, a win did not come to fruition for the Rangers, who fell 6-4 to the Padres in 10 innings.
“He really stepped up for us,” Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said when talking about Gore’s effort.
“You have an idea of when you’re pitching the whole week, so your routine is what it is with bullpens and your lifting and your prep work, but he [Gore] came in as soon as he heard about Eovaldi and said, 'I got it.' He said that in Philly opening weekend when deGrom couldn’t make his start, he’s a gamer, he wants the ball.
"The most impressive part is that he went out a day early from when he should have gone out, and he went six innings and gave us more than a chance to win. He was really, really good tonight. It’s too bad we couldn’t get him the win.”
Gore came out struggling with command early but was able to settle into the game and give the Rangers some much-needed length.
“I kinda settled in,” Gore said after the game. “I thought we were much better at the end than we were at the beginning of the game. We settled in, were able to get through six, and it gave us a chance to win.”
At one point, it did look like Gore would end up helping the team win as Jake Burger crushed a two-run home run into the Rangers' bullpen to give Texas a 3-1 lead in the seventh inning.
However, the Padres scored a pair of runs in the eighth off Cole Winn and Tyler Alexander to tie the game and eventually send it to extra innings, where third baseman Manny Machado laced what ended up being a three-run home run off Joe Ross.
The Rangers' bullpen entered play with the second-lowest bullpen ERA in the American League, having been so dominant for much of the season. Unfortunately for Texas, it had run out of a fuse on Saturday.
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