On September 12, 2024, the Texas Rangers defeated the Seattle Mariners 5-4 in a close game. The Rangers came back from a 4-1 deficit, with Nathaniel Lowe playing a pivotal role. He hit a solo home run in the seventh inning and delivered the go-ahead run with an infield single during a three-run eighth inning. Kumar Rocker made his MLB debut for the Rangers, impressively striking out 17 batters, the most by any Rangers player in their debut since 2008【6†source】【6†source】.
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00:00Well, arguably the biggest debut of a pitcher for the Rangers since David Clyde as Kumar
00:12Rocker makes his way in today and is ready to make his major league debut tonight against
00:17a very good Seattle Mariners ballclub.
00:21Here he is, and it's for good reason.
00:22Now we go back and look at the timeline for him.
00:24He was one of the great pitchers in college baseball history.
00:28A very well-decorated career at Vanderbilt, and the Rangers, kind of a surprise, drafted
00:34him third overall in 2022 after he'd had a little trouble with the Mets the year prior.
00:40But Tommy John surgery last May derailed progress he was making in the organization, and so
00:45he had the long rehab process once again to get back to throwing.
00:49Well, what has he done in the minor leagues this year?
00:52Coming back from that surgery, he has been flat out dominant, and Mike, he's been getting
00:56a lot of swing and miss.
00:58The Mariners and the Texas Rangers opening game of this four-game series.
01:02So Bryce Miller from Texas, from New Braunfels, Texas, making his 29th start of the year.
01:06He's ready to go.
01:07Marcus Simeon to lead things off for the Rangers.
01:10Here's the one-two, and Simeon shoots it out to left center field.
01:14That drops down.
01:15Base hit.
01:16First man aboard here tonight.
01:18That's a good start to the inning.
01:20And the pitch from Miller.
01:21There goes the runner.
01:22Simeon pitch on the way up.
01:23Ball to throw.
01:24Not a second by Cal to catch the tag, and out at second is Marcus Simeon.
01:29Cal Rowley throws out his 25th would-be stealer.
01:32He's having a tremendous year.
01:33This throw on the money to J.P. Crawford.
01:36Down with the tag, and Simeon is out at second.
01:39And he gets underneath this one.
01:42High pop up into short right field, and Robles takes control, and that is out number two.
01:49Swing and a one-half for the third.
01:51Hard hit, but right there, Rojas.
01:52He's got it on the hop to throw the first in time to Ian Lankford, and that's going
01:55to retire to the side.
01:56This is going to be fun tonight.
01:58A lot of excitement about Kamar Rocker.
02:01Your dream is coming true, and you want that dream to be a good dream today.
02:06Mom and dad looking on from the seats here.
02:09Tracy Rocker, one of the great players for the SEC back in the day, and now a coach.
02:15And there's his son, Kamar Rocker, ready to go.
02:17Right hander's first pitch, and this one on the ground up the middle, and that's through
02:20a base hit.
02:21So Victor Robles with a single for Seattle to get things started.
02:26There's a bouncer.
02:27And that one gets through, and a base hit for Rodriguez.
02:31Robles heads to third base.
02:33But unfortunately, it's first and third.
02:35Two ground balls, fine holes.
02:36Okay, so now a real challenge for the rookie, Cal Raleigh, one of the better hitting catchers
02:42in the game.
02:43Rocker's 2-0, and a swing and a miss.
02:45Runner goes to second.
02:46Rodriguez has his 22nd steal of the year.
02:49I don't think you have to throw him a strike either with first base open.
02:53And that is a fastball strike three called.
02:55Raleigh strikes out looking, and there's the first strikeout in the career of Kamar
03:00Rocker.
03:01I love it.
03:02Fastball.
03:03Heater, 97.
03:04Mom and dad, very proud.
03:06That's right.
03:07Number one.
03:08And there's a swing and a miss.
03:09A Rosarena strikes out on the slider.
03:12Back-to-back strikeouts for Kamar Rocker.
03:14Gets a Rosarena because that 97 in on the hands gets you out in front.
03:19Can't hit that breaking ball.
03:20Second and third, nobody out.
03:21Now we have second and third, two outs.
03:23What if he gets out of this situation in his first inning?
03:26First pitch to Raleigh, and that one lined out to right field, and back there for Jankowski.
03:30He does get out of the jam, and yeah, mom and dad, you should be bummed.
03:34What a great first inning for the rookie.
03:37An emotional moment for mom and dad.
03:40Well, the broken bat pop-up, Lowe is out number two.
03:43That'll bring up third baseman Josh Young.
03:44Young batting 277, six home runs, 14 runs batted in.
03:48Fits one on, flag ball deep in the right field.
03:50Robles going back to the one he tracked near the wall, leaps up, and this one is gone.
03:55Goodbye baseball.
03:56Young with a home run, and the Rangers get that first run of the ballgame.
04:01Big home run for the Yungle Cat, his seventh of the season.
04:05And the Rangers have a 1-0 lead here in the top half of the second.
04:08It's one inning, but that's what makes major league pitchers great, is when they can get
04:13out of those situations.
04:15Here it comes.
04:16And he got him swinging.
04:18Third strikeout already for Rocker.
04:20How about this execution here?
04:22He knows what he has to do and perfectly executes this breaking ball on the plate, starts in
04:27the zone, drops below the zone, and he just walks around the mound like, all right, hey,
04:31I'm cool, give me the ball and let's do it again.
04:33And he does.
04:34A strikeout of Crawford completes the 1-2-3.
04:38So a couple of walks this inning for the Mariners.
04:40That puts two on with two out for Randy Orozarena.
04:42So now you just have first and second two outs.
04:45Let's make some really good pitches and get back in the dugout.
04:47Got him swinging.
04:48Fifth strikeout of the night for Kamar Rocker.
04:51It's not to like tonight.
04:52Here's Garcia.
04:53Two out, nobody on here.
04:54Top of the fourth.
04:551-0 Texas.
04:56Swing and a miss.
04:57Chase at 97, running away from him, a lively heater from Bryce Miller.
05:02Fourth inning.
05:03Working it out.
05:04This is like old school.
05:05Well, the slider gets really swinging, and that's his sixth strikeout tonight for Kamar
05:10Rocker.
05:11Well, you see another slider here as we just went through the ten whiffs, had an 11th one
05:16there, and his fourth strikeout on that pitch.
05:19Mariners stranded two runners in the first.
05:21He's stranded another two in the third.
05:23You can see already tonight just how elite that slider is.
05:27To center field.
05:28Driven deep and driven out of here.
05:29Straight away center field.
05:30Justin Turner has tied the game up.
05:31JT drives one out on a 3-2 pitch.
05:32His tenth home run of the season.
05:33Fourth as a Mariner.
05:34A new ballgame here in the fourth inning.
05:35And he swings and misses at the slider here, and that will do it in the fourth inning.
05:49Kamar Rocker likely done tonight.
05:52Seven strikeouts through four innings allowed one run in his major league debut.
05:57Tavares walks to load him up.
05:59That's a big walk because now, of course, with the bases loaded, that's one piece of
06:03it, but it also turns the lineup over for Marcus Simeon, and he's in a great spot to
06:08drive in runs, which is what he does really well.
06:11Ground ball over to Rojas.
06:12He's got it at third base.
06:13Fires to first, and Bryce Miller escapes the jam.
06:17Kamar Rocker done after four innings.
06:19It was impressive to watch this guy throw tonight.
06:22Seven punchouts over the four innings.
06:25It's been an incredible journey, and he's just come out, just fighting, putting his
06:29head down, and just working hard.
06:33We were in shock.
06:35I mean, this is just so amazing to see.
06:39Chafin walks.
06:40The first man that he faces, Cal Raleigh, is aboard.
06:42The Mariners have him loaded.
06:43And here is Rosarena.
06:44Up the middle, into center field for a base hit.
06:45The Mariners have taken the lead.
06:46Randy Rosarena drives in two.
06:47And another, it skips to the plate, goes to the backstop, and that gets Raleigh home from
06:48third.
06:49Man, that is a wild pitch.
06:50Daniel Lowe leading it off with the Rangers here in the seventh inning.
06:51Rosarena giving ground on the track at the wall, and it's gone.
06:52So a couple of home runs tonight, both the opposite way, as it turns out, for the Rangers,
06:53and it's a two-run game.
06:54He's got it.
06:55He's got it.
06:56He's got it.
06:57He's got it.
06:58He's got it.
06:59He's got it.
07:00He's got it.
07:01He's got it.
07:02He's got it.
07:03He's got it.
07:04He's got it.
07:05He's got it.
07:06He's got it.
07:07He's got it.
07:08He's got it.
07:09He's got it.
07:10He's got it.
07:11He's got it.
07:12He's got it.
07:13He's got it.
07:14He's got it.
07:15He's got it.
07:16He's got it.
07:17He's got it.
07:18He's got it.
07:19He's got it.
07:20He's got it.
07:21He's got it.
07:22He's got it.
07:23He's got it.
07:24He's got it.
07:25He's got it.
07:26He's got it.
07:27He's got it.
07:28He's got it.
07:29He's got it.
07:30He's got it.
07:31He's got it.
07:32He's got it.
07:33He's got it.
07:34He's got it.
07:35He's got it.
07:36Karman and quickly winning the
07:37error.
07:38Birelli earlier he allowed Smith
07:40to reach and then that one
07:42muffed allows a life for to
07:44score.
07:45And it is five to four Texas.
07:47Now the winning run count to the
07:48plate in the form of Julio 200
07:50swing.
07:51And a this this one is over but
07:54Kumar Riker Major League debut
07:56and the Rangers win it five to
07:58four and getting a big win on
08:00Riker Night.
08:01That's a memorable night.
08:02That is such a memorable night.
08:03a great debut by the 24 year old
08:07rookie and the Rangers come from
08:09behind to win it five to four.