Jurado drops debut but impresses Rangers

CHICAGO -- The Rangers staked Ariel Jurado to a lead in his Major League debut Saturday. Once he gave up the early advantage, however, the Rangers couldn't muster anything offensively to take it back.
But as far as first impressions go, Jurado made a strong one.
The 22-year-old right-hander, who was recalled Saturday from Double-A Frisco, became the youngest Rangers pitcher to make a start in his debut in nearly 10 years. But after getting through his first two big league innings unscathed, Jurado allowed four runs -- all with two outs -- in the third inning of a 5-3 loss to the White Sox on Saturday night at Guaranteed Rate Field.
But it was the way Jurado responded after the four-run third inning that impressed manager Jeff Banister the most. Jurado threw 4 2/3 innings, allowing the four runs on six hits, while striking out two and walking two.
He recorded his first strikeout when Leury García went down swinging in the second inning.
"This kid threw the ball extremely well," Banister said. "He responded very well. [He] gave up the runs, [but] walking off the field, [he] didn't seem affected by it at all, came back in, settled in and went back out and threw strikes."
RBI doubles by Jurickson Profar and Rougned Odor in the second inning provided the Rangers with a 2-0 lead. Profar's sacrifice fly in the third inning extended the lead to three runs before the White Sox roughed up Jurado in their half of the inning.

After Omar Narváez led off with a double, Jurado recorded two outs, then issued a walk to Yolmer Sánchez that opened the door for three straight hits, including RBI singles to José Abreu and Matt Davidson. A two-run triple from Daniel Palka gave the White Sox the lead.
Despite the inning when he left a few too many pitches up in the strike zone, Jurado said the time between receiving the news he was being called up and Saturday night's start didn't give him enough time to get nervous.
"I took it as another start for me," Jurado said through a team interpreter. "I tried to do my best job."
Abreu homered off of reliever Kevin Jepsen in the seventh. The Rangers' offense stalled after the third inning, when they got to White Sox starter Lucas Giolito early. But Giolito settled in and combined with three relievers to limit the Rangers to singles by Robinson Chirinos and Delino DeShields the rest of the way.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Dream come true: After surrendering four runs in the third inning, Jurado bounced back with a 1-2-3 inning in the fourth before leaving the game with two outs in the fifth inning. The outing capped a whirlwind callup in which Jurado said he started crying when he received the news he was headed for Chicago.
"It's a very happy moment for me," Jurado said. "... You always dream of [making a debut], but I really didn't have a chance to think about it."
SOUND SMART
The Rangers have lost 11 games this season after taking the lead. Saturday's loss was the second time in three days they couldn't hold onto a lead, and they dropped to 4-5 in two-run games, two of which happened in this series against the White Sox.
HE SAID IT
"The kid showed a lot of moxie tonight. He showed us everything that our scouts and development people told us. Loved what we saw. … He needs to feel good about himself, what he showed us tonight." -- Banister on Jurado's debut
UP NEXT
Mike Minor takes the mound for the Rangers in the series finale Sunday, which begins at 1:10 p.m. CT. Minor (3-2, 5.61 ERA) will look for his first win since May 3 after surrendering 11 earned runs over his last two starts. He will face Reynaldo López.