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

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

“He was all right,” Texas manager Bruce Bochy said. “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 said it was “a surreal experience” to make his major 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 said.

The Rangers held on to win the matinee contest, however, thanks to a 13-hit outburst that included a two-run home run from Jonah Heim and solo shots by Marcus Semien and Adolis Garcia.

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

The Tigers once again tied the score in the bottom of the fourth thanks 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 choice in the eighth. Taveras added an RBI single in the ninth for Texas, which won three out of four games in Detroit.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Cards’ Contreras out with foot contusion after HBP

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Cards' Contreras out with foot contusion after HBP

ST. LOUIS — Cardinals first baseman Willson Contreras was not in the lineup Wednesday against the Colorado Rockies a day after he was hit in the foot by a pitch and broke his bat in frustration.

Contreras, listed as day-to-day with a right foot contusion, was hit by Rockies starter Kyle Freeland‘s sweeper in the fourth inning. He then slammed his bat into the dirt and snapped it over his knee.

As he walked toward first base, the 33-year-old threw the two pieces of the broken bat toward the Cardinals’ dugout.

He remained in the game until the sixth inning, when he was replaced by Nolan Gorman.

The Cardinals said X-rays did not reveal any structural damage in Contreras’ foot.

Contreras has been hit by a National League-leading 18 pitches this season, trailing only Randy Arozarena and Ty France.

Contreras leads the Cardinals with 16 home runs and 65 RBIs.

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Rangers’ struggling García to IL with ankle injury

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Rangers' struggling García to IL with ankle injury

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Texas Rangers put struggling slugger Adolis García on the 10-day injured list with a sprained left ankle and activated outfielder Evan Carter.

Texas, which is chasing an American League wild-card berth, made the moves their series finale against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday.

Another outfielder, Wyatt Langford, was held out of the lineup because of forearm stiffness, but manager Bruce Bochy said he could be available to pinch-hit.

García is hitting .224 with 16 homers and 64 RBIs in 116 games. He hit .176 (6 for 34) during the nine-game homestand that ended with Wednesday’s game.

Carter, who turns 23 later this month, missed 10 games because of back spasms. He was in a 4-for-34 slump when he was placed on the IL on Aug. 2. He hit .238 with four homers and 21 RBIs in 55 games before then.

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D-backs’ DeSclafani to IL after turn as starter

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D-backs' DeSclafani to IL after turn as starter

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Arizona Diamondbacks placed right-hander Anthony DeSclafani on the 15-day injured list Wednesday because of right thumb inflammation after he made three starts.

DeSclafani (1-2, 4.36 ERA) has been primarily a reliever for the Diamondbacks but made the starts this month after Merrill Kelly was traded to the Texas Rangers at the deadline on July 31.

Arizona made the move with DeSclafani before the series finale at Texas, when Kelly was starting for the Rangers. The Diamondbacks recalled right-hander Casey Kelly from Triple-A Reno.

“We’re hoping for the minimal time. He’s going to get some imaging just to make sure that everything’s OK,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “This is something that popped up a couple days ago. We all felt that he was going to be able to take the baseball and go out there and compete, which he did. We saw the stuff in the first couple of innings, and we decided it was time to take him off the field.”

In the three starts this month, DeSclafani is 0-1 with a 5.59 ERA, allowing six runs in 9⅔ innings. He threw three innings Tuesday night, allowing two runs in a game Arizona won 3-2 on a homer by Ketel Marte in the ninth.

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