Minor Gets 1st June Win, Rangers Beat Reds 4-3
CINCINNATI (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — Jeff Mathis had a pair of hits and drove in a run, Mike Minor pitched into the seventh inning for his first win in nearly a month, and the Texas Rangers won their second straight over the Cincinnati Reds, 4-3 on Saturday night.
The Rangers took advantage of three Reds errors and finally got some runs for Minor (6-4), who was 0-1 in his last four starts despite allowing a total of six runs. Texas had scored a total of five runs while he was on the mound in those games.
The lefty gave up Yasiel Puig's two-run homer and Curt Casali's solo shot in 6 1/3 innings for his first win since May 20. Shawn Kelley pitched the ninth in a heavy rain for his eighth save in 12 chances.
Mathis emerged from a 1-for-13 slump with a double and a run-scoring single . Danny Santana also had a pair of hits and scored a run, and Asdrubal Cabrera added an RBI single off Tanner Roark (4-6), who has lost all of his three starts in June.
The Reds also lost rookie center fielder Nick Senzel, who fouled a pitch off his left eye in the fifth inning. The ball deflected off his left foot, came up and hit the bill of his helmet and his eye. A trainer held a towel to the left side of his face and helped him walk off the field.
Senzel was the second overall pick in the 2016 amateur draft, but his ascent has been slowed by a series of injuries. He set a club record with three homers in his first four games after making his debut on May 3.
Roark needed 27 pitches to get through a two-run first inning, which was extended by Joey Votto's throwing error.
The Rangers are now 38-32 on the season and finish off their road trip Sunday afternoon against the Reds.
(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
