TEXAS RANGERS NOTES:
WINS AND LOSSES: Texas beat the Astros in last game on Wed. at HOU, 13-5, and club has a 1-2 record on this 6-G, 7-day road trip to HOU (1-2) and SD (3 G) that included yesterday’s off day…TEX has dropped 2 of 3 and 4 of 6 after a season-high 6-G win streak (7/14-19) out of the break, club’s longest since going 6-0, 6/22-28/19…team’s 8-4 (.667) record to start the 2nd “half” is still T3rd-best in A.L. and T4thbest in MLB…TEX is 9-6 in last 15, 10-10 in last 20 G, and 11-12 in last 23 G…team is 20-23 (.435) beg. 6/7, a stretch which came after club reached season high point at 20-over on 6/6 (40-20)…team’s 46-32 (.590) record since 4/28 is still best in A.L. and rd-best in MLB over that span (ATL: .635, 47- 27; LAD: .600, 45-30)…TEX is 50-37 in last 87 G and 55-39 last 94 G (beg. 4/9).
- At 60-43 (.583), TEX owns the 3rd-best record in the A.L. and 4th-best in MLB (ATL: .640, 64-36; BAL: .608, 62-40; TB: .590, 62-43)…60 wins rank 3rd in A.L. and 4th-most in MLB (64-ATL, 62-BAL/TB, 60-TEX).
- The 60-43 mark matches the 2nd-best 103-G start to a season in Washington/Texas franchise history (see chart below).
STANDINGS: TEX owns a 2.0-game lead in A.L. West over 2nd-place HOU, losing 2.5 G on the lead over the past 8 days…lead dropped to 1.0 GA with loss Tues. at HOU, this after a lead of 2.0+ G in the division for 63 consecutive days from 5/23-7/24…TEX was 4.5 GA on 7/18-19, which was largest advantage since 7/1 (5.0 GA)…current division lead is largest in A.L. and 3rd-largest in MLB (ATL is +10.0 GA, LAD is +3.0 GA…season-best 6.5-G lead in West after win 6/23 at NYY, which was largest division lead since winning the West by 9.0 G in 2016…TEX has had sole possession of 1st place for 83 straight, 90 of 91, and 103 of the last 105 days beg. 4/14.
- TEX has been alone or tied atop the division for 119 of the season’s first 120 days (exception: 4/8).
SERIES STUFF: TEX has dropped 2 straight series after back-to-back sweeps to open 2nd “half” (vs. CLE and TB)… club is now 2-5-0 in last 7 series and 2-6-1 in last 9 series… TEX is 4-8-1 in last 13 series following a stretch of 6 straight series victories from 5/19-6/7, longest span for team since club-record 10 straight series victories from 5/20-6/20/16…is 19-12-2 overall in series this year, going 10-5-2 at home and 9-7-0 on the road…is 15-9-2 in last 26 series and 18-10-2 in last 30…on the road, team has lost 4 straight, 1-5-0 in last 6 road series.
ON THE ROAD: Win on Wed. at HOU snapped 4-G road losing skid, tied for longest streak in ’23 (also 0-4, 4/24-5/5)… TEX has also lost 6 of 8, 8 of 11, and 12 of last 19 away games…club is still 26-23 (.531) on the road this season, good for the 4th-best away record in the A.L. (BAL: .615, 32- 20; HOU: .585, 31-22; TOR: .536, 30-26).
- Rangers rank 2nd in MLB in R/G (5.55) on the road this season (LAD-5.77), but have 3-or-fewer runs in 6 of last 11 away tilts…club’s .761 road OPS is 3rd-highest in A.L. (.794- LAA, .766-TB), but still nearly 100 points lower than OPS at home (.849).
VS. SAN DIEGO: TEX/SD are meeting for 1st time since 4/9-11/21 in Arlington, when Rangers were swept in a 3-G series…Rangers’ last series at Petco was 8/19-20/20 (0-2)… TEX has dropped 8 straight vs. SD (beg. 9/16/18), this after a span of going 7-1 vs. Pads from 5/9/17-9/15/18…TEX trails all-time, 23-25, going 10-11 overall in America’s Finest City, 8-5 here at Petco (2-6 at Jack Murphy/Qualcomm).
- TEX is 15-14 in Interleague play, losing 4 of last 5 G… team is 4-8 in N.L. parks this year, winning 3 of last 5 away games…this is Rangers’ 1st series in a N.L. West park in ’23.
ROSTER MOVES: The Rangers announced the following roster moves prior to tonight’s series opener:
- RHP Josh Sborz activated from 15-day IL.
- C Jonah Heim placed on 10-day IL, retroactive to 7/27, with a left wrist tendon strain.
- OF Bubba Thompson recalled from Round Rock (AAA).
- RHP Owen White optioned to Round Rock (AAA).
NOT TODAY: The Rangers overcame an early 3-0 deficit for a blowout win on Wed. at HOU, a victory which allowed Texas to maintain sole possession of 1st place in the A.L. West… it marked the 5th time in 8 wins since the break for Texas to prevail after falling behind by multiple runs (trailed by 4 on 7/14 vs. CLE, by 3 on 7/16 vs. CLE, by 2 on 7/17 vs. TB, by 4 on Sun. vs. LAD).
BIG OFFENSE: After the 13-5 win on Wed. at HOU, Texas leads MLB with 605 R, .275 BA, 988 hits, 380 XBH, 1667 TB, and a .343 OBP…team leads the A.L. with an .807 OPS
and .463 SLG…the Rangers’ 225 doubles are 2nd in MLB (BOS-226)…the Rangers’ +157 run differential is also best in MLB…list of top run differentials: +157-TEX, +141-TB, +49- BOS/HOU, +46-BAL/TOR.
BIG WINS: Wed. at HOU was the Rangers’ 17th win by 8+ runs this season…according to STATS, it marks the most wins by 8+ runs before the end of July by any team in the modern era (since 1900)…STATS says the previous record was 16 such wins by the 1936 Yankees and 1953 Dodgers… the Rangers have 3 games remaining in July.
OH WHAT A NIGHT: The Rangers’ 13 runs on Wed. at HOU were the club’s most since 6/3 vs. SEA (16 R), while 17 hits matched the season high for a road game (also 5/7 at LAA)… team’s 4 HR on Wed. matched a season high (6th time, last 7/14 vs. CLE), and marked most HR in a road contest since 9/29/22 at SEA (5 HR)…the Rangers’ 7-R 5th inning on Wed. marked club’s biggest frame since 5/26 at BAL (8-R 4th) and was team’s biggest inning ever at Minute Maid Park.
GRANDIOSO: Adolis García’s grand slam on Wed. at HOU was his 4th career slam, his 3rd in ’23 (also 4/10 vs. KC and 5/14 at OAK)…his 3 slams are tied w/ HOU’s Alex Bregman and LAD’s Max Muncy for most in MLB in 2023…the 3 slams match the most in a single season in Rangers history…the list: Jeff Burroughs in 1973, Larry Parrish in 1982, Rafael Palmeiro in 1999, Hank Blalock in 2004.
- García entered the day with a MLB-high 84 RBI…he owns the 3 highest single-season RBI totals by a Ranger since the start of 2020: 101 in 2022, 90 in 2021, 84 in 2023.
BOCHY IS BACK: Bruce Bochy recorded the 1st 951 wins of his managerial career with San Diego from 1995-2006, and that win total remains the franchise record…he led the Friars to the 1998 National League pennant, joining Dick Williams (1984) as the only managers in franchise history to take the Padres to the World Series…4 of the 7 postseason appearances in San Diego franchise history, as well as 4 of its 5 division titles, came during Bochy’s tenure here.
- Bochy’s 2063 career wins as manager rank 10th all-time, 2nd among active skippers behind only HOU’s Dusty Baker (2151)…Bochy and Baker are 2 of 12 managers all-time with 2000+ wins, the other 10 are all in the Hall of Fame.
- TEX went 9-10 in its 1st 19 meetings vs. SD from 1997- 2006 when Bruce Bochy was the Padres manager.
SHORTS: Each of the Rangers’ last 6 games have come before crowds of 37,000+, and Texas has played just one game since the break with a crowd under 30 K: Monday, 7/17 vs. TB (29,901)…10 different Rangers had hits on Wed. at HOU, just 2nd instance in a road game since start of 2015 (also 8/24/22 at COL)…Wed. was also just the 2nd time since start of 2021 for 4 different Rangers to hit a HR in a road game (also 9/29/22 at SEA), and it was the same 4 players in both instances: García, Huff, Lowe, Semien.
TONIGHT’S STARTING PITCHER – #33 Dane Dunning, RHP (8-3, 3.18)
TONIGHT: The 28-year-old is scheduled to make his 23rd appearance/15th start of the season in tonight’s series opener in San Diego…has gone 0-2, 6.32 (11 ER/15.2 IP) over his last 3 starts to raise ERA from 2.61 to season-high 3.18, which would rank 6th in A.L. if he qualified, but he is currently 1.0 IP shy of qualifying status…career-high 8 wins are T11th in A.L., and 16 GIDP’s induced rank T1st in A.L. (also Nathan Eovaldi and BAL’s Kyle Gibson)…his .727 win pct. is T4th-best in A.L…has made 14 starts since joining the rotation on 5/5, going 6-3, 3.53 (32 ER/81.2 IP) with 22 BB/53 SO…has allowed just 9 HR this season, as 0.79 HR/9 figure is 5th-lowest in A.L. among pitchers with 100+ IP…will pitch on extra 5 days’ rest after taking loss in Rangers’ 16-3 defeat on Sat. vs. LAD (see below)…just 27 of 92 hits allowed this season have gone for extra bases (9 HR, 17 2B, 1 3B), and .365 opp. SLG figure is 8th-lowest in A.L. (min. 100 IP)… established career highs in many categories last season, ranking 2nd on the Texas staff in starts (29), innings (153.1), and strikeouts (137)…had season-ending surgery on 9/26/22 for a right hip labral repair, with the surgery performed by Dr. William Robertson in Arlington…is 17-21 with a 4.13 ERA (171 ER/373.0 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…Texas is 8-6 in his 14 starts in 2023, dropping 2 of last 3.
LAST START: Took loss in last start, a 16-3 Rangers defeat on Sat. vs. LAD (L, 3.0 IP, 7 H, 5 R-ER, 2 BB, 1 SO, 2 HR, 79 pitches/45 strikes)…induced inning-ending GIDP from Will Smith in scoreless 1st inning, but gave up 3 R in the 2nd (33 pitches) and 2 R in the 3rd (27 pitches) in Rangers’ largest defeat in ’23… it was his shortest start of ’23 and most runs allowed in any outing this year… season ERA jumped over 1/3 of a run with the outing (2.82 to 3.18).
VS. SAN DIEGO / INTERLEAGUE: Has never faced the Padres in his career, one of 6 ML clubs he has yet to face: MIA, MIL, NYM, SD, SF, TEX…is 2-2, 4.94 (17 ER/31.0 IP) in 8 G/5 GS vs. N.L. clubs this season…is 5-3, 4.33 (33 ER/68.2 IP) in 13 career starts in Interleague play, going 4-2, 4.09 (23 ER/51.0 IP) in last 9 GS vs. N.L. (beg. 7/27/21).
AS A STARTER: Has gone 6-3, 3.53 (32 ER/81.2 IP) with 22 BB/53 SO in his 14 starts for Texas in 2023, spanning his last 14 outings…has logged at least 7.0 IP in 3 of his last 6 starts, and has pitched 5.0+ innings in 13 of 14 starts….no more than 3 ER allowed in 11 of 14 GS, as his 7 quality starts are 4th-most on club (11-Eovaldi, 8-Gray/Pérez)…has exited 9 of 14 starts with the Rangers holding a lead…made 8 straight relief app. to open the year, but a majority of Dunning’s Major League appearances (75 of 85) have come as a starter…he owns a lifetime 17-21 record and 4.25 ERA (181 ER/383.2 IP) in those 75 career starts, with opponents batting .262/.334/.416/.749 (384-1468)…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…Dunning’s 68 starts in a Texas uniform over the last 3 seasons (beg. 2021) are the most among Rangers.
ON THE ROAD: Dunning has seen fairly even home/road splits in 2023: 5-1, 3.52 in 11 G/7 GS at home; 3-2, 2.79 in 11 G/7 GS on the road…is 2-2, 2.90 (13 ER/40.1 IP) in his 7 road starts this season, taking loss in last away start on 8/9 at WAS (5.2 IP, 4 R-ER)…on 6/23 at NYY (7.0 IP, 2 R-ER), took no decision despite exiting in line for the victory in Rangers’ 4-2, 10-inning win…has allowed one or 2 R in 5 of 7 road starts, 3 R-or-less in 6 of 7 starts…has performed significantly better at home (15-6, 3.44 ERA in 45 G/40 GS) than on the road (4-15, 4.97 ERA in 40 G/35 GS) in his Major League career.
- Earned win on 5/10 at SEA (6.0 IP, 2 R-ER), ending 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, 2001- 05)…drought set a franchise record, surpassing Pete Broberg in 1972-73 (15).
SO CLOSE: Earmed win in Rangers’ 10-2 victory on 6/28 vs. DET (W, 8.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R-ER, 0 BB, 10 SO, 1 HR, 100 pitches/75 strikes)…was within one out of a CG shutout, but gave up a 2-R HR after Nathaniel Lowe could not make a play on a popup with 2 outs in the 9th…still set a career high for innings and matched his career best with 10 SO (also 5/9/21 vs. SEA)…his 78 game score was 2nd-highest of his career (80 game score on 8/6/22 vs. CWS – 7.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R).
2023: Opponents have batted .243/.304/.385/.669 (92-378) with 27 extra-base hits (9 HR, 17 2B, 1 3B)…opp. BA by time thru the order: 1st (.217, 36-166), 2nd (.259, 35-135), 3rd (.260, 19-73), 4th (.500, 2-4)…8 wins are T2nd-most on club (11-Eovaldi)…20.1 relief innings still rank 8th 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 OL’s Scott Elarton (29 from 2001-05)…earned win 7/4 at BOS, when he ended outing with 5.0 SHO IP after Sox scored following triple to lead off game.
SAN DIEGO PADRES NOTES:
Padres drop series with their 3-2 loss on Wednesday to Pirates, enjoy an off day yesterday
- The Friars lost 3-2 on Wednesday with starter Seth Lugo going a career-high-tying 7.0 innings with 2 runs allowed… it was his 9th quality start of the season, and he punched out 8 without allowing a walk.
- San Diego batters went 0-for-5 with RISP, and Manny Machado’s double was their sole extra-base hit.
1-run losses
- San Diego’s 1-run loss on Wednesday pushed their 1-run record to 6-17…their .261 winning percentage in 1-run contests is the lowest in baseball.
- SD pitchers have a 3.18 ERA in 1-run games, but their .194 batting average in those games is the lowest in MLB.
Josh Hader & Trent Grisham hosted BaseBOWL event after Wednesday’s game
- Following Wednesday’s game, fans joined Padres players and alumni for Padres BaseBOWL (hosted by Josh Hader and Trent Grisham), an evening of bowling and fun at East Village Tavern & Bowl…all of the proceeds went to the Monarch School.
Musgrove riding an 8 quality start streak
- In his 1st 5 outings this year, Joe Musgrove didn’t have a single quality start…he’s now had a quality outing in 10 of his last 11 starts since then, including an active streak of 8 straight quality starts, the longest active streak in baseball…it’s the 2nd-longest quality start streak of Musgrove’s career, trailing his streak of 12 in 2022.
- In those 8 starts since June 13th, Musgrove is 6-1 with a 2.34 ERA in 50.0 total innings…in his last 11 starts since May 26, he’s gone 8-1 with a 2.00 ERA and with 67 strikeouts against 10 walks.
Padres are 8-0 vs. Rangers in last 8 matchups
- In their last 8 meetings since Sept. 16, 2018, the Padres won every single
game that they’ve played against the Rangers…they’ve scored 53 runs while
allowing 25 and hit 18 homers to the Rangers’ 8… the Padres hold a 25-23
lead in the all-time series, which dates back to 1997. - Their 8 game win streak over Texas is tied for the 4th-longest active winning
streak by one team over another in MLB, and it’s San Diego’s longest ever
winning streak over an Interleague opponent (Sportstrader).
Friars have lowest swing percentage and highest walk rate in
baseball
- San Diego batters have the highest walk rate (10.9%) and lowest swinging
percentage (44.0%) of any team this year, and they have drawn at least 2
walks in each of their last 19 games, good for the longest active streak in
baseball.
STARTING PITCHER – #44 JOE MUSGROVE
Musgrove set for first outing vs. TEX since the no-no
Joe Musgrove takes the mound in the series opener vs. the Rangers for the first time since April 9, 2021, when he tossed the first and only no-hitter in franchise history…in the club’s 8,206th game…a native from El Cajon, he became the 6th pitcher since 1900 to toss a no-hitter for a team from the state where he was born, joining Jered Weaver (LAA), Kevin Gross (LAD), Nolan Ryan (TEX), Terry Mulholland (PHI), and Dave Stewart (OAK).
Musgrove quality again, but tagged with first loss since May 20 last Sun @ DET In his 2nd of his career start vs. DET last Sunday at Comerica Park…he posted his 10th quality start of the season and his 8th in a row somce June 13 vs. CLE…it’s the 2nd-longest quality outing of his career behind only his 12 consecutive quality outings to begin the 2022 season…it’s tied for the longest quality outing streak this season with SF’s Logan Webb and SEA’s George Kirby, and its .the longest current active QS streak in the Majors.
Since May 26
Joe is quality in 10 of his last 11 starts since May 26 @ NYY, going 8-1 with a 2.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and .236 AVG against…among all qualifying pitchers since May 26, he ranks 1st in run support average (8.15), T-1st in wins (8), 3rd in ERA (2.00) and 5th in HR/9 IP ratio (0.53).
Musgrove’s chase rate among best in Majors
Joe’s 35.8 chase % in ’23 is a career high, ranks in the 98th percentile and is the highest chase rate in MLB (min. 300 PA).
0 walks + 0 HR = recipe for success
Joe allowed 2+ HR for tjust the 2nd time this season last Sun @ DET, after posting 4 multiHR games in ’22…when he’s allowed 0 longballs, he has a 6-0 record and the Padres are 6-3…in his final start of the first half 2 starats ago on June 9 NYM, he posted his 23rd career outing with 0 HR and 0 BB allowed across at least 5.0 IP…since his 2016 debut season, the 23 such outings are 4th-most in the Majors behind only Clayton Kershaw (36), Zack Greinke (33) and Kyle Hendricks (29)…when he post such an outing, he has a record of 14-2 (.875 winning %) and his teams have gone 17-6…12 of the 23 outings have come as a member of the Padres since ’21.
