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Jack Leiter’s first start back in the Texas Rangers’ rotation didn’t end the way he wanted — a gut-punch 3-2 walk-off loss to the San Francisco Giants — but the young right-hander still found a silver lining.
“I was really happy to be back out there,” Leiter said after Sunday’s defeat. “I wish I could have done more. I actually, early on, was trying to do too much. It feels like a lot of that loss is on me.”
It was a tough way to return, no doubt. Leiter battled through a rocky first inning that saw him throw 37 pitches, ensuring he wouldn’t be able to pitch deep into the game with a 75-pitch limit already in place. But instead of folding under pressure, he settled in and kept the Giants from doing further damage, an important development for a pitcher still trying to establish himself at the big-league level.
One encouraging note: Leiter’s finger, which had sidelined him, held up just fine. He made a small adjustment to his two-seam fastball grip to avoid irritating the injury, and said he had good command of the pitch throughout his abbreviated outing.
The Rangers give up a little league home run to lose to the Giants
The bigger lesson, though, was all mental. Leiter admitted he fell into the trap of stubbornly sticking with a slider that wasn’t working in the first inning, instead of leaning on his rapidly improving changeup. The poor command of the slider led to free passes that could have easily derailed his start.
“Sometimes the feel for one pitch just isn’t there, and you find it later on,” Leiter said. “But I kept missing with my slider in the first and just kept throwing it. Later, I did find it. But I threw a good changeup to [LaMonte] Wade. It was the seventh batter of the game. You need to find a pitch that’s working for you sooner.”
Despite the early struggles, Leiter’s ability to adjust and limit the damage gave the Rangers a chance. Unfortunately, the game slipped away in bizarre fashion.
In the bottom of the ninth, Giants outfielder Heliot Ramos chopped a soft grounder toward third base that should have been a simple infield single. Instead, it turned into chaos. Former Giants reliever Luke Jackson airmailed the throw past first base, allowing Ramos to advance to third. First baseman Jake Burger then threw wildly to third, letting Ramos sprint home for a wild “Little League home run” walk-off.
The stunning loss dropped the Rangers to 15-13 on the season and continued a rough stretch of close defeats. Still, Leiter’s outing gave the Rangers a glimpse of the pitcher they hope he can become — someone who can stay composed when things aren’t perfect, adjust on the fly, and keep battling.
“I didn’t do myself any favors early, but it’s about finding a way,” Leiter said. “And I’m going to keep finding ways to get better.”
