Jack Leiter struggles in MLB debut as Rangers hold off Tigers

The Texas Rangers overcame a tough main league debut from Jack Leiter to hold off the Detroit Tigers in the finale of their four-game collection Thursday.

Leiter, the No. 2 general draft choice in 2021 and the son of former big-league-left-hander Al Leiter, struck out two in a scoreless first inning however struggled after that. The hard-throwing right-hander lasted simply 3⅔ innings, permitting seven runs and eight hits with three walks and three strikeouts.

“He was all right,” Texas supervisor Bruce Bochy mentioned. “He had a little trouble hitting his spots in the second inning but he came right back in the third and got two quick outs in the fourth before he ran into trouble.”

Leiter mentioned it was “a surreal experience” to make his main league debut.

“It’s something you dream about since you were a little kid. Being around the game always, it’s a special day. I know I’m better and I need to be better, and I will be better. And that’s kind of the frustration is some pitches that I left on the table and some mistakes that I made,” he mentioned.

The Rangers held on to win the matinee contest, nevertheless, due to a 13-hit outburst that included a two-run house run from Jonah Heim and solo photographs by Marcus Semien and Adolis Garcia.

Detroit rallied for 4 runs off Leiter in the second to forge a 4-4 tie, however Texas retook the lead in the third on Garcia’s homer and went forward 7-4 in the highest of the fourth when Evan Carter plated Semien on a sacrifice fly.

The Tigers as soon as once more tied the rating in the underside of the fourth due to Kerry Carpenter‘s two-run triple and Spencer Torkelson‘s RBI double, which chased Leiter.

The Rangers took the lead for good when Leody Taveras scored the go-ahead run on a fielder’s alternative in the eighth. Taveras added an RBI single in the ninth for Texas, which gained three out of 4 video games in Detroit.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.