Texas (69-47). 000 002 000. – 2. 6. 1

San Francisco (62-54) 000 001 001. – 1. 3. 0

Time: 2:19

Attendance: 35,689

Friday, August 11, 2023

By Lewis Rubman

Texas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy, center, walks out of the dugout for batting practice for the team’s baseball game against the San Francisco Giants, Friday, Aug. 11, 2023, in San Francisco. (AP News photo)

SAN FRANCISCO–Before tonight’s battle began, the buzz centered around Bruce Bochy’s coming back to the bay (the terrafirma – or should I call it the terratremula?– side, that is). The ex Giants’ skipper, who guided the ragtag teams of the early 2010s to upset World Series championships in 2020, ’12, and ’14, had come out of retirement for this season, at the helm of the AL West division leading Texas Rangers.

He’d been in the east side of the bay for a three game series with Oakland, where his charges had their eight game winning streak broken by losing the last game of the series.

The last time he was the visiting team’s manager at Oracle Park was in 2006 when his San Diego Padres defeated their hosts, 10-2. Tonight’s crowd gave him a rousing standing ovation when his picture appeared on the jumbotron before the lineups were announced. And again when it showed a welcome back slide show between halves of the third.

Bochy’s team won a squeaker, 2-1.

The Giants, struggling to stay in the National League wild card race after going 0-2 in Oakland and 1-2 in Anaheim, chose the bullpen route for the third consecutive time. Friday night’s opener was Scott Alexander (6-2, 4.01) at game time, who had been chased from the mound in the first inning on Tuesday before he could get a man out, but not before he had given up three hits, which resulted in three runs. He did better in his one inning of work tonight, allowing only one base runner (on a walk) and striking out two. Ross Stripling came on in the second for his turn as follow up man.

Bochy and crew went with the 31 year old right hander Jon Gray, who toed the rubber at 7-5, 3.88. Gray was 2-8, 5.96 against the Giants and 67-61, 4.42 in his overall big league career before tonight. His work tonight was excellent, seven innings of shutout ball, in which he conceded only two hits, both singles. He didn’ walk anyone. His pitch count reached 87 (with only 26 balls). He earned the win and now has a record of 8-5, 3.65.

Both pitchers were in command as the teams traded zeroes until the top of the sixth, when the Rangers broke through with back to back solo homers by Nathaniel Lowe (his 14th, to right) and Mitch Garver (his eighth, to left).

That did it for Stripling; he struck out JP Martínez to end the inning and his tenure. He’d thrown 73 pitches, 47 for strikes, over five frames, allowing five hits and no. walks. His ERA briefly dropped below 5.00, but he left the game with it at 5.10. He was tagged with the loss; his record now stands at 0-5, 5.10.

Ryan Walker put the visitors down in order in the seventh and was pulled for Taylor when Marcus Semien led off the eighth by beating out a grounder to third for a single. The left handed twin emerged unscathed in spite of a passed ball on the third strike to Lowe. (It’s not having been scored as a wild pitch occasioned some questions in the press box).

Aroldis Chapman replaced Gray for the eighth, struck out Conforto and walked Bailey. Mark Mathias, batting for Crawford, fanned, but Chapman unleashed two wild pitches in the process, putting Conforto on third. Matos also went down swinging, and that was the end of the threat.

Luke Jackson was hit hard in the Texas ninth but put the Rangers down while allowing nothing more harmful than a walk.

Will Smith, the Texas closer, looking for his 22nd save in 24 opportunities, gave up a leadoff double to center by Heliot Ramos, who took third Leody Taveras’s throwing error. He scored on a ground out to third by Estrada, but that was all the offense the Giants could muster. Smith got his save and the Rangers, their win.

Saturday, the game will start at 6:05. Alex Cobb (6-3, 3.30) is scheduled to be on the mound for San Francisco. Andrew Heaney (9-6, 4.14) will pitch for the team from Arlington.