KANSAS CITY — The Rangers have lost a lot this week.
They’ve lost baseball games — four of five on this road trip, in fact. They lost ace Jacob deGrom for a start when the Rangers decided to skip his turn in Kansas City this week due to shoulder soreness. On top of all that, they also lost future Hall of Fame manager Bruce Bochy for the day as he attends to a family matter.
The losses were piling up. A break finally went the Rangers’ way on Wednesday. In a game that should have been started by deGrom and his 2.76 ERA, acting manager Luis Ureta was forced to piece together a bullpen game.
“The toughest thing about managing a game is managing a bullpen, in my opinion,” Ureta said pregame. “Obviously putting in this situation, on a bullpen day, that makes it a little bit more challenging. But whatever, we should be fine.”
It didn’t look fine to start, when starter Caleb Boushley surrendered a three-run homer to Vinnie Pasquantino in the first inning. But then the offense chipped away all game, while the bullpen — Boushley included — virtually shut down the Royals afterwards.
Kyle Higashioka delivered the final blow with a bases-loaded double with two outs in the top of the ninth, propelling the Rangers to a much-needed 6-3 win.
