TEXAS RANGERS NOTES:
WINS AND LOSSES: Texas took the 2nd game of the series yesterday, 10-6, as team secured a series win here in DET… club is now 6-2 on this 9-G, 10-day road trip to PIT (2-1), BAL (2-1) and DET (2-0 + 1 G)…team is 4-1 in last 5 G, and has won 6 of 8, 10 of 13, 12 of 16, 14 of 19 and 17 of last 23… TEX is an MLB-best 21-8 (.724) in last 29 G beg. 4/28…TEX is 21-12 in last 33 G, 28-14 in last 42 G and 31-15 in last 46 G beg. 4/9.
- At 35-19 (.648), TEX owns the 2nd-best record in the A.L. and MLB (see chart below)…club’s 35 wins rank T2nd in A.L. and MLB (39-TB, 35-BAL/TEX).
- The 35-19 start the Rangers’ best 53-G start to a season in WSH/TEX franchise history.
- TEX is now 16 G above .500 for the 1st time this season… from 2020-22, TEX spent a total of one day above .500 (10-9 on 8/15/20)…club did not reach 35 wins until 6/27 in 2022 and 7/9 in 2021.
BEST RECORDS IN MLB, 2023
Win Pct. Team W-L
.684 Tampa Bay 39-18
.648 Texas 35-19
.636 Baltimore 35-20
WITH A WIN TODAY, Texas could:
- Move to 36-19, which would mark the best 55-G start in franchise history…even with a loss today, a 35-20 record would also be a record for a 55-G start in club history.
- Climb to a season high 17 G above .500 for the 1st time since the end of the 2016 season.
- Notch a 14-5 road record in May, which would mark a franchise record for most road wins in a calendar month.
- Secure the team’s 4th series sweep of the season, 2nd on the road (also 3 G sweep on 4/17-19 at KC).
- Improve to a 6-0 record against A.L. Central opponents on the road in 2023 (7-1 overall).
SERIES STUFF: Club has won 4-straight series for the 2nd time this season (also 4/10-23) and 6-straight road series for the 1st time in franchise history…club has gone 9-1-1 in last 11 series and 12-2-1 in last 15…team is 13-4-1 overall in series this year, going 6-2-1 at home and 7-2-0 on the road… club is 8-2-0 in last 10 series on the road…club did not win a 13th series in 2022 until 8/12-14 at SEA…last time that the club won 5 series in a row? 6/15-7/1/18 vs. COL/at KC/at MIN/vs. SD/vs. CWS.
- Team has won all games of a series 3 times during this campaign (3-0, 3/30-4/2 vs. PHI; 3-0, 4/17-19 at KC; 3-0, 5/19-21 vs. COL).
MERRY MONTH OF MAY: Texas owns the highest win pct. in MLB during May (18-8, .692)…it would be the club’s best win pct. for a month since June 2016 (20-8, .714)…the 18 wins in May mark the most wins in a single month for TEX since the start of 2022 (17-10 in May 2022).
VS. DETROIT: TEX is 2-0 in this 3 G set at DET…it is the 1st of 2 series vs. DET in ’23, as they also meet in Arlington for 3 G (6/26-29)…TEX went 3-4 vs. DET in 2022, and have lost consecutive season series against them (also 1-6 in 2021)… club won the season series in previous 5 straight years from ’15-19…TEX trails the all-time series (251-255), including a 117-141 mark in DET…club has gone 47-48 at Comerica Park (since ’00), losing 6 of last 10 at this ballpark dating back to ’21…have still won 25 of last 39 here (beg. 8/4/11).
LIFE ON THE ROAD: TEX is 6-2 in 8 games of this 9-G, 10- day road trip…it marks the Rangers’ 2nd-consecutive 3-city road trip (7-3 from 5/5-14 at LAA/SEA/OAK), and the 2nd of a trio of 3-city trips in 2023 (also 8/21-30 at ARI/MIN/NYM)… team has won 10 of 13 and 13 of 17 on road after a season-long 4-G away losing skid…club is 19-11 (.633) on road, the most wins by a team on the road this season…2nd-best away win pct. in A.L., 3rd in MLB…club has already tied the franchise record for road wins in a calendar month with 13 in May (also Aug. 2013, 13-3).
DEBUT DANDY: Making his MLB debut last night, Grant Anderson notched his 1st career win, striking out 7 batters in 2.2 SHO-relief innings…it is the 1st time in TEX history that a player has 7 SO while coming out of the bullpen in their MLB debut…he is also the 1st player since 1900 to make his MLB debut as a relief pitcher and strike out 7-or-more batters in under 3.0 IP (h/t Elias)…Anderson is just one of 19 players over that span to make their MLB debut as a relief pitcher and strike out 7-or-more players in any amount of innings pitched.
MOST STRIKEOUTS IN MLB DEBUT
AS A RELIEF PITCHER, RANGERS HISTORY
SO Player Date/Opp.
7 Grant Anderson 5/30/23 at DET
4 José Leclerc 7/6/16 at BOS
4 Neftalí Feliz 8/3/09 at OAK
4 Jeff Zimmerman 4/13/99 at SEA
ELITE OFFENSE: TEX leads MLB w/ 6.37 R/G and 344 R …club has 10+ R in an MLB-leading 14 G and has scored 5+ R in an inning 15 times this season.
- The 334 runs scored by TEX in ’23 are the most over the first 54 G of a season in franchise history, and is T21st-most in the modern era.
- TEX’s +132 R/D is 1st in MLB and the 8th-highest R/D in a team’s 1st 54 G of a season (since 1901).
- Current A.L. ranks: OBP (2nd, .340), OPS (2nd, .790), SLG (2nd, .451), TB (2nd, 847), 2B (2nd, 109), XBH (2nd, 187), H (3rd, 511)…own an MLB-best .334 BA (167-500) w/ RISP.
THE SEMIEN STANDARD: Marcus Semien yesterday extended his hitting streak to a career high 19 games, which is tops in the A.L. and T1st in MLB for active hitting streak (also LAD’s Freddie Freeman)…it is the longest hit streak by a Ranger in ’23 and ranks T2nd in team history for a hitting steak by a 2B with Ian Kinsler’s 19-G streak from 5/16-6/4/08 …longest hitting streak by a TEX 2B? Kinsler again, with a 25-G streak from 6/17-7/13/08…totals during streak: .313 BA (26-83), 3 HR, 2 3B, 5 2B, 16 RBI, 4 BB/12 SO and 19 R.
- Semien has hits in 25 of 26 G in May at .324/.384/.514/.898, along with a 27-G on-base streak…has also reached base via H/BB in 29-straight road games.
- MLB ranks for Semien among 2B in ’23: R (1st, 48), TB (1st, 108), RBI (1st, 44), 2B (1st, 14), H (2nd, 66), OPS (2nd, .849), 3B (T2nd, 2), BA (3rd, .296)….481 BA (25-52) with RISP leads A.L.
MAKING A CASE: Josh Jung extended his hitting streak last night to a career-best 13-straight G, and has hits in 17 of his last 18 G at .375 (27-72)…it is the 4th-longest hitting streak by a TEX rookie in club history…next on the list? 14 G streak by Ruben Mateo from 4/25-5/10/00…Jung also launched his MLB-leading 12th HR by a rookie…he has 4 HR in last 9 G.
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER – #33 Dane Dunning, RHP
(4-0, 1.67)
TODAY: The 28-year-old right-hander is scheduled to make his 13th appearance/5th start of the season in today’s series final in Detroit…was activated yesterday from MLB’s Paternity Leave List…placed on the list on May 27 and was out for 3 games, forcing him to miss his scheduled start on 5/28 at BAL…has made 4 starts this month since moving to the rotation after Jacob deGrom went on the IL: 2-0, 1.59 (4 ER/22.2 IP) w/ 5 BB/15 SO…Dunning’s 1.67 ERA for the season is the lowest in MLB among pitchers with 43+ IP…has the 2nd-most innings (43.0) of any MLB pitcher without allowing a HR in 2023 (60.1 IP – MIN’s Sonny Gray)…among A.L. pitchers with 43+ IP this season, ranks among leaders in ERA (1st, 1.67), opp. BA (7th, .206) and GB pct. (9th, 50.0%)…did not factor into the decision in his last start on 5/22 at PIT (5.2 IP, 6 H, 1 R-ER, 3 BB, 3 SO, 97 pitches/61 strikes)…his last win came on 5/16 vs. ATL…ranks among staff leaders in wins (T4th, 4), innings (5th, 43.0), and strikeouts (6th, 26)…has yet to allow a HR in ‘23 and is scoreless in 6 of 12 G…began season with 18.0 scoreless innings…established career highs in many categories last season, ranking 2nd on the Texas staff in starts (29), innings (153.1), and strikeouts (137)…missed time in 2022 for a pair of IL stints: 7/11-25/22 (right ankle impingement) and 9/27/22-end of season (right hip surgery)…had season-ending surgery on 9/26/22 for a right hip labral repair, with the surgery performed by Dr. William Robertson in Arlington…has gone 13-18 with a 4.10 ERA (143 ER/314.0 IP) for the Rangers over the last 3 seasons (2021-23) since being acquired from the Chicago White Sox in a 3-player trade involving RHP Lance Lynn on 12/8/20…pitched 3 seasons at the University of Florida, helping the Gators to College World Series appearances in both 2015 and 2016…is a native of the Jacksonville, Fla. area…Texas is 2-2 in Dunning’s 4 starts in 2023.
LAST START: Did not factor into the decision in his last outing on 5/22 at PIT, the 1st game of this 9-G, 10-day road trip…left the game with the game tied at 1-1 (TEX would eventually drop the contest by a score of 4-6)…tossed 5.2 innings and allowed 1 R-ER on 6 H and 3 BB, while also striking out 3 batters…threw a season high 97 pitches (61 strikes)…has lasted at least 5.0-or-more innings in all 4 starts this season…allowed 6 hits for the 3rd-consecutive game, but has not allowed more than 2 runs in any of those contests.
VS. DETROIT/A.L. CENTRAL: Owns an 0-2 record with a 5.79 ERA (12 ER/18.2 IP) in 4 games/starts against the Tigers…his last 2 starts vs. DET have been at Comerica Park, where Dunning has taken both career losses vs. DET and recorded a 7.71 ERA (8 ER/9.1 IP)
- Has gone 4-7, 4.85 (46 ER/85.1 IP) over 19 G/17 GS in his career against the A.L. Central, incl. 1-0, 0.00 ERA (6.1 IP) over 1 start in 2023…is 1-5 with a 6.20 ERA (28 ER/40.2 IP) in 9 G/8 GS for his career against A.L. Central opponents on the road.
AS A STARTER: Has gone 2-0, 1.59 (4 ER/22.2 IP) in his 4 starts for TEX in ‘23, spanning his last 4 outings…has exited 3 of 4 starts with Texas holding a multi-run lead…made 8 straight relief app. to open the year, but a majority of Dunning’s Major League appearances (65 of 75) have come as a starter…he owns a lifetime 13-18 record and 4.24 ERA (153 ER/324.2 IP) in those 65 career starts, with opponents batting .260/.335/.411/.746 (324-1245)…he went 4-8, 4.46 ERA (76 ER/153.1 IP) in 29 starts for Texas in 2022, registering an A.L.-high 17 no-decisions…the 17 ND’s were T3rd-most in MLB and a WSH/TEX franchise record for a starting pitcher…Dunning’s 58 starts in a Rangers uniform over the last 3 seasons (beg. 2021) are the most by a Ranger.
ON THE ROAD: Dunning did not factor into the decision in his last start on the road on 5/22 at PIT (5.2 IP, 6 H, 1 R-ER/ 3 BB, 3 SO)…earned the win on 5/10 at SEA (6.0 IP, 2 R-ER), ending a span in which he had gone winless in 27 consecutive road starts with CWS and TEX, the 2nd-longest winless road span as a starter in modern era behind only COL’s Scott Elarton (29 from 2001-05)… only previous career road win as a starter was w/ CWS on 9/9/20 at PIT…the drought set a Texas franchise record, surpassing Pete Broberg in 1972-73 (15)… has performed well both on road (2-0, 1.82) and at home (2-0, 1.47) in ‘23, but fared better at home (4-2, 3.59, .232/.307/.421/.728 in 16 GS) than on the road (0-6, 5.62, .312/.390/.470/.860 in 13 GS) last season.
2023: Opponents have batted .206/.266/.258/.524 (32-155) with 8 extra-base hits (all doubles), incl. opp. BA’s of .188 (13-69) vs. LHB and .221 (19-86) vs. RHB…4 wins are T4th-most on club…20.1 relief innings still rank 4th for TEX…has 3 relief app. of 3.0+ SHO IP…earned win on 4/17 at KC (4.1 SHO IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 5 SO), as he and Jacob deGrom (4.0 SHO IP) became just the 2nd Rangers duo in the last 40 years (beg. 1984) to each have at least 4.0 SHO IP in the same game (also 5.0-Kameron Loe, 4.0-C.J. Wilson on 8/26/05 vs. MIN)…his win on 5/10 at SEA ended a span in which he had gone winless in 27 consecutive road starts with CWS and TEX, the 2nd-longest winless road span as a starter in modern era behind only COL’s Scott Elarton (29 from 2001-05).
DETROIT TIGERS NOTES:
TIGERS LOSE SLUGFEST TO RANGERS: The Tigers lost the middle game of their series against the Rangers, 10-6, on Tuesday. Miguel Cabrera was a perfect 3×3 at the plate with a double and two RBI. Hitting in the leadoff spot for the first time, Zack Short had a pair of hits and drove in a run, while Andy Ibáñez and Jake Rogers each hit solo homers. Alex Faedo started for Detroit and took the loss, giving up six runs on seven hits with a walk and four strikeouts in 4.1 innings.
ROSTER MOVES: The Tigers have announced the following roster moves:
*Placed OF Riley Greene on the 10-day injured list (left fibula stress fracture)
*Selected OF Jake Marisnick from Triple A Toledo. Marisnick will wear #15.
*To make room for Marisnick on the 40-man roster, transferred RHP Trey Wingenter to the 60-day injured list
MULTI-HIT MIGGY: Miguel Cabrera posted his first three-hit game of the season last night, finishing the game 3×3 with a double and two RBI. The performance marked Cabrera’s 248th career three-hit game, one shy of tying Carl Yastrzemski for 28th most in big league history. With a double last night, he now has 1,135 extra-base hits in his career, breaking a tie with Tris Speaker for 16th on the all-time list.
JAKE FROM PLATE FARM: Jake Rogers finished last night’s game 1×3 with a solo homer, his sixth round-tripper of the season, equaling his single-season career high. Rogers’ six homers is tied for the fifth-most among American League catchers this season.
TAKE YOUR BASE: The Tigers continued to show patience at the plate yesterday, drawing four walks. Detroit has drawn four-or-more walks in 10 straight games, the team’s longest streak since a 15-game stretch from April 4-19, 1997. After finishing last season 29th in the Majors with a 6.5% walk rate, the Tigers enter today’s game ranked seventh in the big leagues with a 9.4% walk rate.
TIGERS AND RANGERS: The Tigers and Rangers conclude their first series of the season today. After today, the two teams will play a four-game set in Arlington from June 26-29. Detroit went 4-3 against Texas last season, including splitting a four-game series at Comerica Park. The Tigers have won the season series from the Rangers each of the last two years.
AT COMERICA PARK: The Tigers are 3-3 on their current seven-game homestand, which includes four games vs. Chicago (AL) (3-1) and three games vs. Texas (0-2). Detroit is 13-13 at Comerica Park this season. As a team, the Tigers are hitting .232/.314/.366, while the pitching staff has posted a 4.56 ERA (239.0IP/121ER).
ON DECK: The Tigers return to the road on Friday as they open a three-game series against the White Sox. Detroit and Chicago (AL) played last weekend at Comerica Park with the Tigers winning three-of-four games. The White Sox went 12-7 against the Tigers last season, but the two teams split 10 meetings at Guaranteed Rate Field.
TIGERS ON THE IL:
- RHP Beau Brieske (right upper arm discomfort, 60-day IL on March 30, retroactive to March 27)
- OF Kerry Carpenter (right shoulder sprain, 10-day IL on April 29, retroactive to April 28)
- OF Riley Greene (left fibula stress fracture, 10-day IL on May 31)
- RHP Matt Manning (right foot fracture, 60-day IL on April 12)
- OF Austin Meadows (anxiety, 60-day IL on April 8, retroactive to April 7)
- RHP Casey Mize (right elbow sprain, 60-day IL on February 17)
- RHP Freddy Pacheco (right elbow sprain, 60-day IL on March 27)
- LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (left index finger pulley rupture, 15-day IL on May 30, retroactive to May 29)
- LHP Tarik Skubal (left elbow strain, 60-day IL on March 14)
- RHP Spencer Turnbull (neck discomfort, 15-day IL on May 12, retroactive to May 7)
- OF Matt Vierling (low back soreness, 10-day IL on May 30, retroactive to May 29)
- RHP Trey Wingenter (right biceps tendinitis, 60-day IL on April 22, retroactive to April 19)
TODAY’S TIGERS STARTING PITCHER – #43 Joey Wentz • 1-5, 7.80 ERA (42.2IP/37ER)
- Wentz will make his 11th start of the season today in the series finale vs. Texas.
- Took the loss in his last start on Friday vs. Chicago (AL), allowing five runs on six hits with two walks and four strikeouts in 4.0 innings.
- Will be making his first career appearance against the Rangers today…has made 11 starts in his career at Comerica Park, compiling a 0-4 record with a 6.26 ERA (46.0IP/32ER) and 40 strikeouts.
- Struck out a career-high seven batters and allowed only one run on six hits in 5.2 innings on April 14 vs. San Francisco.
- Saw his first Major League action in 2022, starting seven games and posting a 2-2 record with a 3.03 ERA (32.2IP/11ER) and 27 strikeouts… also appeared in 12 games, including 11 starts, with Triple A Toledo and went 2-2 with a 3.17 ERA (48.1IP/17ER) and 53 strikeouts.
- Pitched in the Arizona Fall League following the 2022 season and made three starts for Salt River, throwing 12.0 scoreless innings with
two hits allowed, four walks and 14 strikeouts.
