Michael Lorenzen and Rangers beat Rays in series opener

Michael Lorenzen allowed one hit in five innings and Corey Seager hit a two-run double to lead the Texas Rangers to a 3-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays in the opener of a three-game series on Friday in Arlington, Texas.

Jonathan Ornelas hit a double, a single and scored a run, and Jonah Heim also had two hits for Texas, ending a two-game losing streak.

Lorenzen (5-4) walked five batters, including three in the fifth inning to load the bases, but he got out of the jam by striking out Brandon Lowe. He struck out four batters and left the field after throwing 90 pitches, only 50 of which were strikes.

Kirby Yates went 1-2-3 with two strikeouts in the ninth inning and earned his twelfth save.

Rays starter Shane Baz (0-1), who made his first major league appearance after Tommy John surgery on July 10, 2022, allowed three runs on seven hits in six innings. Baz managed one walk, six strikeouts and threw 92 pitches, including 59 strikes. He hit 99.1 mph on the radar with a first-inning fastball.

Baz struck out the first six batters he faced, but ran into trouble in the third inning when the Rangers converted five hits into a 3-0 lead.

Leody Taveras opened the inning with a single, but was thrown out while attempting to steal second base.

One out later, Ornelas hit a single to right and moved to second base on a single by Marcus Semien. Seager then hit a double into the gap in left-center field that rolled to the wall and caught both Ornelas and Semien. Nathaniel Lowe followed with a groundball single to center field, scoring Seager.

Tampa Bay wasted a scoring opportunity in the seventh inning when pinch hitter Jonny DeLuca and Taylor Walls walked reliever Jacob Latz to start the inning. Latz got the rebound and Yandy Diaz was able to pop out to first base and Brandon Lowe to line out to center. David Robertson replaced Latz and ended the threat with a strikeout of Isaac Paredes.

–Field level media