Rangers blank Marlins for second consecutive shutout win

MIAMI (AP) — Andrew Heaney threw six scoreless innings, Adolis García homered and singled and the Texas Rangers beat the Miami Marlins 6-0 on Sunday.

Jacob Latz, David Robertson and Grant Anderson pitched an inning each to finish the Rangers’ second consecutive shutout win. It is the first time since September 2016 that the Rangers have back-to-back shutout wins.

Rangers shortstop Corey Seager singled in five at-bats to extend his hitting streak to 15 games. Seager also has a 25-game on-base streak.

Marcus Semien had three walks and singled, while Josh Smith had two hits for the Rangers.

“If we play our game and pitch like we’re capable of pitching, we can play with anybody,” said Rangers manager Bruce Bochy, whose club has won five of six. “And they believe that. They’re world champions.”

Heaney (2-6) allowed four singles and struck out seven. It was his longest outing since also going six innings against Oakland on May 6.

“That’s the best I’ve felt in a long time,” Heaney said. “Mechanically, I felt everything was coming out of the same slot, same tunnel. Everything was direct toward the plate and staying on the plate for a long time. It was a good feeling.”

The Marlins dropped to an NL-worst 21-39. They haven’t scored since the eighth inning of their series-opening win on Friday.

"Obviously, back-to-back shutouts is not ideal," Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said. "Just not too much offensively today. We lacked the big hit the last couple of games."

Texas got its offense going against Miami starter Trevor Rogers (1-7) with a three-run first inning. Robbie Grossman and García hit RBI singles before Grossman scored from third on a double play grounder.

“That’s the characteristic of this club — to score runs early,” García said. “We try to remain aggressive and that’s how we’re defined.”

García’s leadoff shot in the sixth made it 4-0. The blast landed in the left-center field seats for his 13th homer.

The multi-hit game was Garcia’s first since May 15. Garcia also ended a seven-game homerless streak.

“I always have a winning mentality and when things are not going well, it affects me sometimes,” García said. “This is a good club and I try to do the best for my teammates.”

The Rangers increased their lead on Leody Taveras’ run-scoring single and Travis Jankowski’s RBI groundout in the ninth.

After giving up four consecutive singles to start the game, Rogers settled down. He allowed four runs and six hits and struck out three.

“At that point it was all about survive and advance, giving my team every opportunity to stay in the ball game,” Rogers said of overcoming the first inning. “I was very happy to get through six innings today.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Rangers: Right-hander Max Scherzer (back surgery, thumb soreness) is hopeful of throwing batting practice next after his bullpen session Saturday.

Marlins: Placed right-hander Sixto Sánchez (right shoulder inflammation) on the 15-day injured list retroactive to Saturday and recalled Emmanuel Ramírez from Triple-A Jacksonville.

UP NEXT

Rangers: Right-hander Nathan Eovaldi (2-2, 2.84) will start the opener of a three-game series at Detroit on Monday. Left-hander Tarik Skubal (7-1, 2.01) will go for the Tigers.

Marlins: Left-hander Jesús Luzardo (2-2, 4.18) will start the opener of a two-game home set against Tampa Bay on Tuesday. Right-hander Ryan Pepiot (3-2, 3.88) is scheduled to start for the Rays.

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