Sun. 8/2/2015
Games 18, 19
Rangers 11, Royals 3, Game 1
The Rangers capitalized on the longball once again to topple the Kettering Royals 11-3 and 16-5 on Sunday, August 2 at Franklin Park.
In game one, the Rangers batted for the cycle in the third inning to take a 4-0 lead. Jonmarc Lippincott led off with a double and later scored after a single by Brennen Glass. Robert Riley tripled him home, and Joe Staten homered to wrap up the inning’s scoring. Staten’s blast was his 44th career home run, surpassing Jake Kingsolver as the all-time HR leader in Rangers’ history.
The Rangers put up a 5-spot in the fourth to take a 9-0 lead. Phil Dickerson led off with a single. After stealing second, Nick Gilmore drove him in with a single. Gilmore stole second and third before scoring on a Brandon Riley hit. Kody Barth followed with his second home run of the season. Glass followed with a back-to-back solo shot, giving him 10 home runs on the season, tying a 17-year old Rangers’ single-season record for home runs.
Dickerson drove in Todd Peck, who earlier doubled in the fifth, to increase the lead to 10-0. The Royals finally got to Rangers’ starter Joe Becker in the bottom of the fifth scoring three times. The Rangers wrapped up the scoring in the sixth on an RBI fielder’s choice. Becker (5-1) allowed one hit outside of the fifth inning, finishing with a 4-hitter in the complete game victory.
Rangers 16, Royals 5, Game 2
Robert Riley got the emergency start on the mound for game 2 and had the longest outing of his career, going 5 strong innings to earn his first win since 2012. Todd Peck blanked the Royals over the final two frames.
Meanwhile, the offense continued to roll in game 2, compiling 16 hits and 10 walks.
In the first inning, Kody Barth recorded the first run after walking, stealing second, and scoring on a passed ball. The Royals would tie it up in the bottom of the inning on an RBI single from Tyler Eaton. In the second, Lippincott hit a sac fly. Steve Marshall followed with a two-run home run. After Matt Wargacki beat out an infield single, Brandon Riley doubled him home. Riley’s double was the 1000th MVABL double for a Rangers’ player.
The Royals tied the game at 5-5 in the top of the third. But the Rangers broke the game open in the bottom of the inning, scoring 5 times. Glass led off with a double and scored on Robert Riley’s single. Joe Staten drove in Riley. Four batters later, Marshall came through again with a two-run single to make it 10-5.
Barth had an RBI double in the fourth and Glass had a run-scoring single to make it 12-5. In the fifth, Nick Gilmore singled and Lippincott, Marshall, and Wargacki followed with walks. Joe Becker added a single to plate Lippincott, who scored his 500th career run. Brandon Riley finished the inning with a sac fly to increase the Rangers lead to 15-5. Dickerson added an RBI single in the sixth to finish the game at 16-5.
Offensive highlights: Brandon Riley 4-7, 3RBI, double; Kody Barth 2-6, 3R, 4RBI, double, HR, SB; Brennen Glass 4-7, 3R, 2RBI, double, HR, SB; Robert Riley 5-7, 3R, triple; Joe Staten 2-8, 2R, 3RBI, HR; Phil Dickerson 5-7, 3R, 2RBI, 3SB; Nick Gilmore 2-6, 4R, 5SB; Jonmarc Lippincott 2-4, 3R, double; Steve Marshall 3-4, 2R, 4RBI, HR; Matt Wargacki 1-3, 2SB.
Historical Notes: Joe Staten broke Jake Kingsolver’s team record with the most HRs in team history (44). Brennen Glass tied a 17-year old franchise record for most home runs in a single season (10). Jonmarc Lippincott scored his 500th career run. Brandon Riley hit the team’s 1000th double in league play.