Wyatt Langford had two RBI singles in the first three innings, and Michael Lorenzen pitched seven shutout innings as the visiting Texas Rangers defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-1 on Thursday.
The Rangers won the third and final game of the three-game series thanks to two hits and two runs scored by Adolis Garcia.
Lorenzen (4-3) reduced his ERA to 1.46 over his last six starts after giving up one run on four hits, a walk, and two strikeouts. One scoreless inning each from David Robertson and Kirby Yates (10th save) sealed the victory.
Andy Pages smashed a home run for the Dodgers, but their fortunes dwindled as they lost a series for the second time in three attempts and suffered their fifth defeat in nine games. Struggling offensively, the Dodgers managed only three runs across back-to-back losses to the Rangers, following a resounding 15-run victory over Texas earlier in the week.
In an effort to stabilize their pitching, the Dodgers deployed right-hander Michael Grove (4-3) to kick off a bullpen game. Grove conceded two runs on three hits in his lone inning on the mound.
Texas took an early lead in the first inning as Josh Smith and Garcia notched consecutive hits, setting up Nathaniel Lowe’s run-scoring groundout to put the Rangers ahead 1-0. Langford then added to the lead with an RBI single to right field.
Langford continued to trouble the Dodgers in the third inning, extending the Rangers’ lead to 3-0 with a blooper RBI single to right off Dodgers left-hander Ryan Yarbrough.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25331702/2055611464.jpg)
The Dodgers managed to break the deadlock in the seventh inning when Pages blasted a solo home run to left field off Lorenzen. It marked the seventh homer of the season for the rookie, who was later thrown out at home plate, thwarting a potential tying run and sealing the Dodgers’ defeat against the Rangers.
In the eighth inning, the Dodgers threatened with two runners on base against Robertson, but the veteran right-hander struck out Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani, and Freddie Freeman consecutively for the second consecutive game.
Meanwhile, the Rangers were without Corey Seager for the second game of the series due to left hamstring tightness. The former Dodger has now missed five of the past six games.