Thoughts on an 8-4 Rangers loss
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - APRIL 22: Jack Leiter #22 of the Texas Rangers pitches against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the first inning at Globe Life Field on April 22, 2026 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images) | Getty Images Pirates 8, Rangers 4 Well, that was some unpleasantness. Jack Leiter was really good.
Until he wasn’t. Leiter allowed a first inning run, on a two out Bryan Reynolds double followed by a Marcell Ozuna single, but those were the only two hits he allowed through four innings. He needed just 20 pitches to get through the first nine batters of the game.
Once the Pirates turned the lineup over, though, the at bats started getting longer and longer. Leiter needed 16 pitches to get the final two outs of the third, including an 11 pitch at bat to end the inning when he struck out Brandon Lowe. In the fourth, he needed 19 pitches, including a nine pitch at bat against Bryan Reynolds and a seven pitch walk to Ryan O’Hearn.
Still, things seemed to be going fine, and Leiter seemed to be in position to go six, maybe seven innings. The Pirates went single-K-walk (on 8 pitches)-K to start the fifth, and retiring Brandon Lowe for the third out would preserve the Rangers’ 2-1 lead. But no.
Lowe singled home a run. Then Bryan Reynolds singled to right, scoring a run, and Brandon Nimmo made a terrible throw back into the infield that Leiter fell and twisted his ankle trying to back up, allowing Lowe to score all the way from first. Leiter looked like he might be seriously injured on the play, which would have made things catastrophic.