The Texas Rangers rode Jack Leiter’s best start of his young career and a barrage of home runs to crush the Cleveland Guardians 10-0 on Saturday night in Arlington. It was Texas’s second straight win in the three-game series.
Leiter (8-7) turned in the best performance of his career. The 23-year-old struck out a career-high 10 batters across seven scoreless innings, allowing only two singles, one from Gabriel Arias in the third and another from Kyle Manzardo in the fourth.
He did not issue a walk, just the third time in 23 starts this season, he has avoided free passes. Leiter retired the final 10 batters he faced, and 21 of 23 overall, in what was also the first time he carried a scoreless start beyond the sixth inning.
Before the game, the Rangers placed second baseman Marcus Semien on the 10-day injured list with a left foot contusion from Thursday’s game against the Kansas City Royals. It’s only the second time in his career he’s landed on the IL, and the first since 2017.
The Rangers’ bats provided more than enough support for Leiter. Texas hit three two-run home runs, Cody Freeman in the second inning, Josh Jung in the third, and Adolis Garcia in the fifth. Freeman’s blast, which followed a Jung walk, was the first home run of his major league career.
Jung’s shot, his 12th of the season, snapped a 14-game homerless drought during which he hit just .116/.156/.163. García, playing in his first game since returning from the injured list, launched his 17th homer of the year and his first since an ankle sprain sidelined him on August 13.
Freeman, Jung, and García weren’t the only contributors. Wyatt Langford doubled twice and walked, continuing a hot stretch late in the season. Ezequiel Duran, who entered the game slashing .386/.413/.477 over the previous two weeks, added a two-RBI double in the fourth inning and later drove in another run with a groundout.
In total, the Rangers collected six extra-base hits. Jung, who had struggled mightily at the plate, reached base in each of his first three plate appearances, scoring three runs.
Cleveland’s offense was held without an extra-base hit and did not advance a runner past first base until the ninth inning. The Guardians, who have now dropped seven of their last eight games, managed just three total hits. Their starter, left-hander Logan Allen (7-10), was hit hard, surrendering a career-worst nine runs in five innings.
Saturday’s rout was the Guardian's heaviest shutout loss since a 17-0 defeat against the Athletics on August 12, 2021.
