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Still in search of his first victory of the season, right-hander Jon Gray will take the mound for the Texas Rangers in their series opener with the Washington Nationals on Tuesday night in Arlington, Texas.

Gray (0-1, 2.92 ERA) went 9-8 last season for the World Series champions but has yet to pick up a victory in five starts this season. He came close in his most recent outing against the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday, allowing one run on seven hits with seven strikeouts in a 5-1 win, but he was one out shy of the required five-inning minimum needed to garner the decision.

Gray is 0-4 with a 6.75 ERA in six career starts against the Nationals. Washington will counter with left-hander MacKenzie Gore (2-2, 3.12). Gore will be facing the Rangers for the first time in his career.

Washington comes into the contest after sweeping a four-game series at Miami, including a 7-2 victory on Monday. It marked the first time since Sept. 23-26, 2019, against Philadelphia that the Nationals swept a four-game series. That one actually was a five-game series because of a doubleheader on Sept. 24.

“The boys played well as a team which I love,” manager Dave Martinez said. “Kudos to these guys. We came back this series and played really well. Played good defense, good pitching, and some timely hits. It was a good series. Now get on a plane and go to Texas. Let’s continue playing the way we’ve been playing and we’ll be in good shape.”

“The energy was fabulous,” Martinez added. “So we just gotta keep going out there and keep playing the game, right from the first inning. You know, play for 27 outs. And hopefully at the end of the day we come out on top.”

Shortstop CJ Abrams led the Nationals offensively with a two-run home run and Jacob Young scored twice and stole two bases on Tuesday. Jake Irvin picked up the win, allowing two runs on four hits over six innings. Dylan Floro and Matt Barnes combined for three scoreless innings of relief.

Young ranks fourth in the major leagues in stolen bases with 12. Washington’s 52 stolen bases is tied with Cincinnati for the most in the majors.

“It’s awesome,” Irvin said of the team’s run game. “It’s an identity for us, and that’s really cool.”

Texas comes in after taking two of three games from the Cincinnati Reds, capped by a 4-3 victory on Sunday.

The Rangers got all the runs they would need in the first inning when Adolis Garcia hit a two-run homer and top prospect Wyatt Langford added a two-run, inside-the-park home run for a 4-0 lead.

Langford’s line drive hit off the wall in right-center and then rolled along the warning track before right fielder Jake Fraley could retrieve it. Langford became the fifth player in franchise history to hit an inside-the-park homer for his first major league home run.

“Yeah, I don’t know what the odds are that his first home run being inside-the-park,” Texas manager Bruce Bochy said. “That was a big home run for him. You get that goose egg off the board and put a number there. It just missed going out.”

“I don’t think anyone envisions it that way,” Langford said of his first homer. “It was super cool. I’ll definitely remember it forever.”

–Field Level Media