TEXAS RANGERS NOTES:
WINS AND LOSSES: Texas took an Independence Day series opener against Boston yesterday by a score of 6-2… club snapped a 2 game losing streak and is now 2-3 in last 5 G, 4-6 in last 10 G…team is 9-8 in last 17 G after a 2-7 span from 6/7-16…have an 11-15 record last 26 G beg. 6/7…club has won 22 of 39, 25 of 43, and 33 of last 55 G (beg. 5/6)… team still has A.L.-best 37-24 (.607) record since 4/28, T2nd in MLB w/ CIN and MIA to ATL (40-19, .678)…TEX is 42-29 in last 71 G and 47-31 last 78 G (beg. 4/9).
- At 51-35 (.593), TEX owns the 3rd-best record in MLB to ATL (.671, 57-28) and TB (.648, 57-31)…club’s 51 wins rank 3rd in MLB (57-ATL/TB).
- The 51-35 mark is the 3rd-best 86-G start to a season in Washington/Texas franchise history (see chart below).
- Yesterday marked the earliest date for the Rangers to reach 51 wins in a season since 6/28/16 (51-27)…last season, TEX did not reach the 51-win mark until 8/14 vs. SEA…high point this season was 20-over after win 6/6 vs. STL (40-20).
WITH A WIN TODAY, Texas could:
- Secure their 1st series win since taking 2 of 3 G at CWS from 6/19-21, an 0-2-1 record in a span of 3 series (1-2 at NYY, 2-2 vs. DET, 1-3 vs. HOU).
- Record their 10th road series win of ’23 (10-4-0), improving to 18-8-2 in overall series this campaign.
SERIES STUFF: After going 3-5 in their recent 8 G homestand (2-2 vs. DET, 1-3 vs. HOU), the Rangers have now lost consecutive homestands for the 1st time this season (also 3-4 from 6/12018 vs. LAA/TOR)…club had winning records in each of 1st 6 homestands in 2023…TEX has gone 2-4-1 in last 7 series after a stretch of 6 straight series victories from 5/19-6/7…those 6 straight series wins marked longest span for team since club-record 10 straight series victories from 5/20-6/20/16…club is 17-8-2 overall in series this year, going 8-4-2 at home and 9-4-0 on the road…is 13-5-2 in last 20 series and 16-6-2 in last 24…with yesterday’s win over BOS, club is now 9-5 in series openers on the road, 15-13 overall.
- TEX has gone 9-4-0 in 13 road series this season.
ON THE ROAD: The Rangers yesterday took the 1st game of a 6-day, 6-G road trip (1-0 + 2 G at BOS and 3 G at WSH)… TEX is 24-17 (.585) on the road, the 3rd-best away record in MLB (ATL 27-13, .675 and ARI 26-15, .634)…club is 5-5 in last 10 G away from Arlington, but has still won 11 of 18, 13 of 21, 15 of 24, and 18 of last 28 road G…13 road wins in May tied franchise record for a calendar month (also Aug. 2013)… club went 4-5 on the road in June.
VS. BOSTON: TEX snapped a 5-G losing streak here at Fenway with yesterday’s win…club owns a 1-0 record vs. BOS in ’23, as teams meet here (1-0 + 2 G) and at Globe Life Field (3 G from 9/18-20)…TEX was 1-6 vs. BOS in ’22, losing the season series for 5th time in 6 chances (4-3 in ’21)…have dropped 7 of 9 and 8 of 11 vs. BOS dating to ’21, 11-24 since 2017…have gone 4-15 at Fenway beg. 7/6/16, losing 8 of 10.
THE WIN CAN WAIT: Yesterday marked TEX’s 1st delay of the season, a 1:47 rain delay in the bottom of the 8th inning… it is the 1st delay that TEX has endured since 6/8/22 at CLE… TEX went through 3 delays in ’22, all falling in a 2-day span in CLE: after a rainout on 6/6 at CLE, the start of the team’s doubleheader on 6/7 at CLE-G1 was delayed 1:19 by rain… the following night’s series finale was delayed 15 min. prior to the start due to a rainy forecast, and then again for 1:52 in the top of the 5th inning when the game was nearly official.
- Since TEX moved into Globe Life Field prior to the abbreviated 2020 campaign, the Rangers have endured just 6 total delays impacting 5 different games, the other 2 delays came on 5/5/21 at MIN (0:31) and 7/20/21 at DET (2:10).
A DAY TO CELEBRATE: The Rangers improved to 26-27 all-time on the Fourth of July with yesterday’s win…it was their 2nd win in the last 9 games on 7/4 since 2014 (also 7/4/19 vs. LAA), but club is still 19-13 on the holiday beg. 1991.
THE GREAT DANE: Dane Dunning posted his 4th consecutive quality start yesterday (6.0 IP, 6 H, R, BB, 4 SO, 89 pitches/61 strikes) en route to securing his 8th win of the campaign, T4th in the A.L…after allowing one run in the 1st inning off a leadoff triple and a groundout, Dunning proceeded to toss 5.0 SHO IP before exiting the game…he has lasted at least 5.0 innings in all 11 starts in 2023.
- Dunning currently owns the 4th-lowest ERA among qualified A.L. starters at 2.61, just ahead of teammate Nathan Eovaldi (2.64)…he has allowed 2 ER-or-less in his last 4 GS, with no more than 3 ER allowed in 10 of 11 in 2023.
GARV SAUCE: Mitch Garver went 2-for-2 yesterday (HR, 2B, 4 RBI, 2 BB, 2 R), reaching base a career high-tying 4 times (2nd w/ TEX; 14x in career, last: 5/30/22 vs. TB)…after launching a 3-run HR in the 2nd inning to give TEX a 3-1 lead (his 1st HR since 6/3 vs. SEA), 10 of Garver’s 17 RBI this season have come in 2 games: 4/1 vs. PHI and yesterday vs. BOS…it is the 8th time in his career that Garver has recorded 4-or-more RBI in a game…Garver also reached 300 career hits with his double in the 4th inning.
ROBBIE, TOO: Robbie Grossman went 3-for-4 yesterday with a 2B and RBI, securing his 3rd 3-H game of ’23…with at least 1 RBI in consecutive games for the 1st time since 5/26- 27, Grossman’s 34 RBI in ’23 are T2nd with Duran among Rangers that weren’t selected for the ASG (Taveras, 39 RBI).
SEAGER STREAK: Corey Seager yesterday extended his career-best 23-game on-base streak (prev. 21 G from 8/3- 27/17 w/ LAD) with a single in the 3rd inning…it is the longest active on-base streak in the A.L., 2nd-longest by a Ranger in ’23 (33-Marcus Semien)…Seager owns a .376 BA (35-93) w/ 16 XBH and a 1.088 OPS since the streak began on 6/10.
BOUNCING BACK: Will Smith’s 0.1 IP save yesterday was his 15th of the season (8th in A.L.), now his 3rd career season of 15-or-more saves…it was his 2nd appearance in as many days, as he blew the save and took the loss on Mon. vs. HOU (1.0 IP, 3 H, 2R-ER)…Smith has converted 11 of his last 12 save opp. spanning the last 20 G (beg. 5/8), posting a 2.79 ERA (6 ER/19.1 IP) and 21 SO/3 BB over that stretch.
GRAY DAY: Despite taking losses in 3 of his last 4 GS (0-3), Jon Gray is still 5-3, 2.56 ERA (16 ER/56.1 IP) over his last 9 GS (beg. 5/8), with a .195 (38-195) opp. BA…his ranks among A.L. qualifiers over that span: WHIP (1st, 0.91), H/9 (2nd, 6.07), BR/9 (2nd, 8.79), opp. BA (2nd), opp. OPS (2nd).
SHORTS: Ezequiel Duran snapped an 0-for-12 hitless streak with a single in his 1st AB yesterday…Leody Taveras now owns a 131 wRC+ in 2023, 3rd among A.L. CF (CWS’s Luis Robert-148 and LAA’s Mike Trout-137)…Taveras’ 2.3 fWAR also ranks 7th among A.L. OF…Corey Seager needs 3 HR and 3 RBI to reach 150 HR and 500 RBI for his career.
TONIGHT’S STARTING PITCHER – #22 Jon Gray, RHP (6-4, 3.21)
TONIGHT: The 31-year-old right-hander is set to make his 16th appearance/start of the season tonight in game 2 of 3 against the Red Sox at Fenway Park…has taken losses in 3 of his last 4 starts (0-3) and has allowed 12 R-ER in his last 3 starts (13.1 IP) to spike his season ERA from 2.32 to 3.21, still 10th-lowest among A.L. qualifiers…despite his recent struggles, Gray has still gone 5-3, 2.56 ERA (16 ER/56.1 IP) over his last 9 starts (beg. 5/8) to lower his season ERA from 4.40…also ranks among A.L. leaders in opp. BA (6th, .219) and WHIP (10th, 1.08)…took the loss in Texas’ 5-3 defeat on Fri. vs. HOU (see below)…this is Gray’s 2nd season with Texas after signing a 4-year free agent contract with the club on 12/1/21…was hindered by several injuries last season, but still managed to post a 7-7 record, 3.96 ERA (56 ER/127.1 IP), and 134 strikeouts over 24 starts…prior to joining the Rangers, the right-hander had spent his entire pro career with Colorado, ranking 3rd in Rockies history with 849 strikeouts while also placing among the all-time team leaders with 151 starts, 829.1 innings, and 53 wins from 2015-21…was the 3rd overall selection by Colorado in the 2013 MLB Draft after pitching 2 seasons at the U. of Oklahoma…is a native of the Oklahoma City area, growing up in nearby Chandler…TEX is 8-7 in Gray’s 15 starts in 2023.
LAST START: Suffered the loss in Texas’ 5-3 defeat on Fri. vs. HOU (L, 6.0 IP, 7 H, 5 R-ER, 2 BB, 4 SO, 1 HR, 97 pitches/64 strikes)…surrendered a solo HR to
Jose Altuve on 1st pitch of the game, 2nd time of Gray’s career in which he has allowed a HR on the game’s 1st pitch (also Kole Calhoun on 8/10/20 vs. ARI)… led, 3-2, after the 5th, but exited trailing 5-3 following Houston’s 3-run rally in the 6th, which featured a 2-run 2B by Mauricio Dubón.
HELP ME, PLEASE: Gray received a total of 4 runs in support from the Rangers’ offense over his 5 starts in June (1.23 RSA), including a span of 3 straight outings in which he received zero run support from 6/7-24…his 5.07 RSA this season is still 14th-highest among A.L. qualifiers, but is the lowest among current Texas rotation members: Pérez (8.05), Eovaldi (6.81), Heaney (5.96), Dunning (5.84).
STILL ROLLING: Despite taking losses in 3 of his last 4 starts (0-3), Gray is still 5-3, 2.56 ERA (16 ER/56.1 IP) over his last 9 starts (beg. 5/8)…opponents are batting .195/.257/.303/.560 (38-195) with just 11 XBH (5 HR, 6 2B) in that span, incl. opp. BA’s of .143 (12-84) vs. LHB and .234 (26-111) vs. RHB…he ranks among A.L. qualifiers over that span in WHIP (1st, 0.91), H/9 (2nd, 6.07), BR/9 (2nd, 8.79), opp. BA (2nd), opp. OPS (2nd), wins (T3rd), and ERA (5th).
VS. BOSTON: This will be only Gray’s 2nd career appearance against Boston, as he has not faced Sox since start on 5/26/16 w/ COL here at Fenway Park (W, 7.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R-ER, 3 BB, 6 SO, 1 HR)…outdueled Clay Buchholz (L, 5.0 IP, 6 R-ER) as part of an 8-2 Rockies’ victory…held Sox scoreless after permitting a 2-run HR to 2022 Baseball Hall of Fame inductee David Ortiz in the opening frame.
ON THE ROAD: Has seen far better results in 7 starts on the road (4-1, 1.99 ERA) than in 8 starts at home (2-3, 4.27 ERA) this season…among A.L. pitchers with at least 5 away starts in 2023, Gray’s 1.99 road ERA (9 ER/40.2 IP) is 2nd-lowest to only HOU’s J.P. France (1.95)…has allowed one-or-zero runs in each of his last 4 road outings, going 3-1, 1.00 ERA (3 ER/27.0 IP) in that span… opponents are batting .180/.248/.302/.551 (25-139) with 4 HR against Gray on the road vs. .251/.326/.401/.728 (42-167) with 7 HR at Globe Life Field in ’23.
BOSTON RED SOX NOTES:
STATE OF THE SOX: The Red Sox yesterday snapped a 3-game winning streak…They’re 4-8 in their last 12 games, after going 8-3 in their previous 11 from 6/9-20.
The Sox are 15-16 since the start of June. At 43-43 (.500), Boston entered today tied with SEA for MLB’s 17th-best record.
MUY BELLO: Tonight’s starter Brayan Bello is 2-1 with a 1.63 ERA, .156 opponent AVG, and 0.80 WHIP in his last 4 starts (27.2 IP, 5 R, 15-for-96, 7 BB, 21 SO, HB). Bello owns a 2.37 ERA (16 ER/60.2 IP) in his last 10 starts…Prior to him, the most recent Red Sox pitchers to post a sub-2.50 ERA in a 10-start span before turning 25 years old were Jon Lester, Aaron Sele, Roger Clemens, and Dennis Eckersley.
BRAYAN BELLO’S LAST 4 STARTS
Game Decision IP H ER BB SO
6/11 at NYY ND 7.0 3 2 2 3
6/15 vs. NYY-G2 W 7.0 4 1 3 8
6/23 at CWS W 6.2 6 1 1 5
6/29 vs. MIA L 7.0 2 1 1 5
TOTALS: 2-1 27.2 15 5 7 21
YESTERDAY’S NEWS: The Red Sox lost to the Rangers yesterday, 6-2, following a 1-hour, 47-minute delay due to weather in the bottom of the 8th inning. It was the 1st time the Red Sox have lost on July 4 since 2012, snapping a franchise-record-tying streak of 8 consecutive wins on Independence Day (8 straight from 1901-04 and 1936-39, including doubleheaders) (source: Elias).
SERIES BUSINESS: With their sweep of the Jays in Toronto over the weekend, the Red Sox improved to 14-11-2 in series play and 7-5-2 on the road…They’re 3-3-1 in their last 7 series. The Sox are 2-5-0 in their last 7 home series, beginning 5/12-14 vs. STL, after going 5-1-0 in their first 6.
SOX & RANGERS: The Red Sox and Rangers are playing their 1st series of 2023…After this 3-game set, Boston will visit Texas for a 3-game series from 9/18-20.
The Sox are 6-2 vs. TEX since the start of 2022, including 4-1 at Fenway Park during that span. The Red Sox are 16-5 in their last 21 games vs. TEX at Fenway Park, dating back to the start of 2016…They’ve won each of their 6 home series vs. TEX in that span.
BEST WESTERN: The Red Sox are 5-6 against AL West teams this season and 30-14 since the beginning of 2022, the best record of any AL team over the last 2 seasons.
The Sox have won their 2 home series against AL West opponents and lost their only road series (3-1 vs. LAA, 2-1 vs. SEA, 0-3 at LAA).
HELP IS ON THE WAY: Four Red Sox players are on rehab assignments: Richard Bleier, Yu Chang, Pablo Reyes, and Joely Rodriguez…Last night for Triple-A Worcester, Reyes went 2-for-4 with a solo HR and Chang went 2-for-5 with a run scored. Chang has played in 3 games with Double-A Portland and 1 with WOR, making 3 starts at SS and 1 as the DH. Rodriguez has allowed 2 runs in 4.1 innings over 5 games with Worcester (3 games) and Portland (2). Bleier pitched a scoreless inning for Portland on Sunday at New Hampshire (H, 2 SO, 13 pitches/9 strikes).
BIG MAPLE: Red Sox starter James Paxton was voted the American League Pitcher of the Month for June, going 3-0 with a 1.74 ERA (6 ER/31.0 IP) in five starts during the month. This is Paxton’s 2nd career Pitcher of the Month Award (also July 2017 with SEA)…He’s the 1st Red Sox pitcher to take home a monthly honor since Chris Sale won in back-to-back months in June and July 2018.
JAMES PAXTON’S STARTS DURING JUNE
Game Decision IP H ER BB SO
6/6 at CLE W 7.0 6 2 2 9
6/12 vs. COL ND 6.0 4 0 1 8
6/19 at MIN W 6.1 3 3 1 7
6/24 at CWS ND 4.0 2 1 0 3
6/30 at TOR W 7.2 3 0 2 7
TOTALS: 3-0 31.0 18 6 6 34
TOUGH TEST: The current 3-game series vs. TEX completes Boston’s stretch of 3-straight series against teams that entered today with a record of .500 or better (0-3 vs. MIA, 3-0 at TOR). After Thursday, 7 of their next 11 series (7/7-8/17) are against teams that entered today with a sub-.500 record. The Red Sox have played 62 games against teams that entered today with a record of .500 or better, 4th most in MLB (OAK-65, NYY-63, TOR-63). The Sox are 33-29 (.532) in those games, the 3rd-best record in the AL and 5th best in MLB…Their 33 wins are 1 behind NYY (34) for most in MLB.
HOME COOKING: The Red Sox complete the season’s 1st half with a 6-game homestand vs. TEX (0-1) and OAK (3 games). Boston has lost 4-straight home games, scoring 5 runs total in that span…They’ve scored 2 runs or fewer in each of those games despite recording 8+ hits in 3 of the 4. The Sox are 8-15 in their last 23 games at Fenway Park, after going 13-7 in their first 20.
SLUGGING SOX: The Red Sox have recorded at least 9 hits in each of their last 4 games (44 H, 19 XBH) after doing so in just 2 of their previous 7 games (42 H, 9 XBH). Yesterday was the Sox’ 35th game of the season with 10+ hits, 4th most in MLB (TEX-47, ATL-38, TB-37).
RISPY BUSINESS: With runners in scoring position over their last 12 games, the Sox have hit .169 (15-for-103) with 5 XBH (4 2B, HR)…Overall with RISP, Boston ranks 3rd in MLB in hits (210), 4th in OBP (.354), and 6th in AVG (.274).
PITCHING IN: In their last 5 games, Red Sox pitchers have posted a 3.40 ERA (17 ER/45.0 IP) while holding opponents to a .220 AVG (36-for-164) with 17 BB and 42 SO.
Yesterday was just the 3rd game this season in which the Sox walked more batters than they struck out (6 BB, 5 SO; also did so on 3/30 vs. BAL and 4/24 at BAL).
RUNNIN’ RED SOX: The Red Sox rank 3rd in the AL and 7th in MLB in SB% (82.1%, 55-for-67)…In 2022, they ranked 22nd in MLB with a 72.2 SB% (52-for-72).
TONIGHT’S STARTER: 66 BRAYAN BELLO – RHP
W-L ERA G GS IP ER HR BB SO WHIP AVG
2023 5-5 3.08 13 13 73.0 25 7 22 67 1.19 .234
CAREER 7-13 3.80 26 24 130.1 55 8 49 122 1.45 .271
Took a no-hitter into the 8th inning last Thursday vs. MIA, but suffered the loss…Allowed 2 hits in the 8th before exiting, with 1 of the runners later scoring (7.0 IP, 2 H, R, BB, 5 SO). Earned his 1st career win on 9/3/22 vs. TEX…Tossed 6.0 scoreless innings (3 H, BB, 5 SO). Has a 2.33 ERA (17 ER/65.2 IP) and 1.08 WHIP in his last 11 starts…In his 5 June starts, had a 2.14 ERA (8 ER/33.2 IP) and 0.86 WHIP (.174 opp. AVG). Has allowed 0 HR in his last 39.2 IP, the 4th longest active streak among SP. Has tossed 6.0+ innings in each of his last 5 starts (7.0+ in 3 of his last 4). In his MLB career, opponents are 22-for-125 (.176) with 0 HR against his changeup (13-for-68 with 28 SO in 2023).
