Tanner Scheppers appeared to be well on his way to a crisp, clean two-inning outing in The Bronx on Tuesday night that would've sent the season opener between the Texas Rangers and the New York Yankees into extra innings.
It wasn't far-fetched, as Scheppers has been great all season for the Rangers and has been one of the biggest pleasant surprises on the roster as the team's set-up man, entering Tuesday night's game giving up just four earned runs in 38 innings of work.
But the worst-case scenario came true for Scheppers as veteran slap-hitter Ichiro Suzuki fought back from an 0-2 count to hit a fastball over the joke of a right-field wall in New York for a two-out, walk-off homer, handing Scheppers his first loss of the season.
"I think it was just the wrong pitch at the time,” Scheppers told ESPN Dallas. “He’s a great hitter. I probably showed him too many fastballs in that at-bat. I probably should’ve gone with something different.
“I’ll wear this loss tonight.”
Scheppers remained in the game to face Ichiro despite the fact Robbie Ross and his 1.51 ERA were warm in the bullpen. Ross, a lefty, wasn't going to be the choice to face the lefty Ichiro, however, as his splits against lefties (.354) are much better than against righties (.226) this season, a rare split.
