In a historic night in Arlington, Texas, Andrew Heaney made his redemption after struggling in his previous effort as a Ranger last week. This time, he bounced back in a big way and took the Kansas City Royals off their game plan. The Oklahoma City native rediscovered the strikeout pitch that the Los Angeles Dodgers helped him find in a breakout season last year. His exceptional form helped him to strike out ten Royals batters in his five innings. Additionally, Heaney’s nine consecutive strikeouts shattered the previous record, which was held by Rangers reliever Joe Barlow, who struck out eight from July 24 to August 2, 2021.
Heaney’s streak of strikeouts meant he zoomed past Nolan Ryan’s feat for consecutive strikeouts by a starting pitcher for the Rangers. This is a remarkable feat, as it is not every day that you erase a Ryan strikeout record from the books. Moreover, Heaney’s nine successive strikeouts matched the American League record, placing him in an elite company of pitchers that have reached the nine Ks mark.
Despite the marvellous performance by Heaney, the Rangers also had an excellent day with their bats. The team scored eleven runs and marked their sixth win in the season’s first ten games. Corey Seager and Jonah Heim each hit their first dinger of the year, while Adolis Garcia hit a sixth-inning grand slam to blow the game open. Additionally, the relief duo of Brock Burke and Dane Dunning followed Heaney with two innings apiece of solid pitching. They only allowed one run, a Hunter Dozier homer off Burke, in the bullpen.
Lastly, Travis Jankowski deserves special recognition for his performance in the game. Following his stellar day in Chicago, Jankowski continued his impeccable form by reaching in three of his four plate appearances. He doubled twice, scored two runs, drove in two, and stole his second base of the season. However, while Jankowski performed his duties in the center field, Robbie Grossman did not get to appear in the outfield.
In the upcoming game, Jacob deGrom will take the mound for the Rangers in the second game of the series opposite old friend Jordan Lyles, righties both. The game is scheduled for Tuesday evening, and the first pitch from The Shed is expected at 7:05 pm CT, and it can be viewed on BS Southwest.
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