*Photo from Sports Illustrated*
It was a dream come true for AJ Alexy, the chance to pitch in the major leagues. Boy did he have a good start. Alexy allowed one hit, Nick Solak homered, and the Texas Rangers defeated the Colorado Rockies 4-3 on Monday night, in Alexy's MLB debut.
Alexy is the 3rd Rangers pitcher to make his MLB debut in the last week, joining Glenn Otto and Jake Latz. Alexy, the 22nd ranked prospect in the Texas system according to MLB pipeline, was acquired by the Rangers at the 2017 trade deadline, as part of the trade that sent Yu Darvish to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Asked about making his MLB debut, Alexy said "My confidence was through the roof yesterday. But then once I got into the pregame bullpen, it was like, ‘Alright here we go. Time to actually do it.’ My emotions have been all over. I was very flustered, but I think once I got through the first inning, it was pretty calm and collected."
The Rangers jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the 4th inning, when DJ Peters hit a solo home run to left field. In the 5th, Leody Taveras made the Rangers lead 2-0 with a solo home run of his own, this one going to center field. In the 6th inning, Solak came up big, hitting a two run home run to right field, and it became 4-0 Rangers.
That was when the Rockies started to get back in the game. It started in the 7th inning, when Trevor Story launched a solo home run to left field, and it was a 4-1 ballgame. In the 8th inning, Story homered again, this one being a two run shot, going to center field and bringing the Rockies to a 4-3 deficit. However, they could not manage any more runs.
Alexy allowed just one hit in his debut for the Rangers, a second inning double to CJ Cron. He walked 3 hitters and allowed no runs, striking out 4 hitters in 5 innings pitched, getting the win and moving to 1-0 in his career. Josh Sborz was responsible for the solo home run by Story, and Spencer Patton was responsible for the two run home run. Brett Martin and Joe Barlow each had scoreless relief appearances.
Rangers manager Chris Woodward said of the debuts of 3 top pitching prospects in one week that "It's a cool success story obviously for the organization. We're going to need that obviously as we move forward into a contending team. When these guys get called up, we have to rely on them. It's huge for that to kind of bring these guys up and feel like they belong. All three guys I’ve honestly been really impressed with. For three in a row, within a week, to kind of have the success they've had, it's pretty remarkable."
For Story, it was a homecoming to his hometown in Texas, which is always a special moment for him. It's the second time he's played at the new Globe Life Field in his career, and the first time he could have friends and family in attendance, as fans were not in the park last season. So, to welcome them back, he hit two home runs in another vintage performance from Story.
Story said "It’s something me and my wife had circled on the calendar, and it’s here now. It’s great to see our family and be home for the next three days. You feel the special occasion of it all, being able to play in front of a lot of people I really love and care about that don’t get to see me play in person a lot."
German Marquez got hit with the loss for the Rockies, dropping to an 11-10 record this season. He was responsible for 4 runs on 7 hits and two walks, with just two strikeouts in 6 innings pitched. Lucas Gilbreath and Robert Stephenson each came on in relief, with neither allowing a run.
The Rockies and Rangers continue their series Tuesday night, with Austin Gomber starting for Colorado, and Jordan Lyles going for the Rangers.
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