TEXAS RANGERS NOTES:
WINS AND LOSSES: Texas posted a last at-bat, 4-3 win over the Mets last night, as club has a 2-5 record on this 9-G, 10-day road trip thru ARI (0-2), MIN (1-3), and NYM (1-0 + 3 G)…the Rangers have won 2 of 3 (wins Sat. at MIN and last night), but are 2-9 in last 11 G, including a season-long 8-G losing streak from 8/16-25…the 8-G skid was 2nd-longest for Texas since start of ’22 (0-9, 8/27-9/5/22)…club has 74 wins, most since 2019 (78)…team has dropped 10 of 14 and is 6-11 since a month-opening and season-best 8-G win streak (8/1-8), longest for club since going 10-0, 5/9-19/17… Rangers are still 14-11 (.560) in August, as last night’s victory secured a winning month…have gone 15-15 in last 30 G and 16-18 in last 34 G since a 6-G win streak (7/14-19) out of the break…team is 22-18 (.550) in the 2nd “half”, 6th-best record in the A.L…TEX is 23-20 in last 43, 24-24 in last 48 G, and 25-26 in last 51 G…team was 12-19 over a 31-G span from 6/7-7/9 to end the 1st “half”…TEX is 69-53 last 122 G. At 74-57 (.565), TEX has 4th-best record in the A.L. (BAL- .626, 82-49; TB-.606, 80-52; SEA-.573, 75-56) and T6th-best in MLB…74 wins rank 5th in the A.L., T7th-most in MLB (85- ATL, 82-BAL, 81-LAD, 80-TB, 75-HOU/SEA, 74-TEX/MIL). The 74-57 mark is T6th-best 131-G start to a season in Washington/Texas franchise history, still best mark at this point since 2016 (77-54).
SO YOU’RE SAYING THERE’S A CHANCE?: Last night’s win snapped the Rangers’ 3-G losing streak in series openers, this after club had won 5 straight series openers to begin August…TEX is seeking to end a span of 3 straight series losses since taking 2 of 3, 8/14-16 vs. LAA…that series was also the last time the Rangers won back-to-back games (8/14-15 vs. LAA).
ON THE ROAD: This road trip marks the team’s 3rd and final 3-city trip of the season (7-3 from May 5-14 at LAA/SEA/OAK, and 6-3 from May 22-31 at PIT/BAL/DET)…club has won 2 of 3, but has lost 6 of 8, 10 of 16, 14 of 21, 16 of 24, 18 of 27, and 22 of last 35 away games…team has a 32-33 (.492) away record in ’23, 7th in the A.L…club began the year with a 19-11 road record, and has gone 13-22 (.371) beg. 5/31, 4th-lowest in A.L. and 7th-lowest mark in MLB over span.
SERIES STUFF: The 1-3 finish over the weekend in Minnesota gave Texas a 3rd straight series loss, this after having won 5 consecutive series to open the month of August…the 5-0-0 span from 8/1-16 was club’s 2nd-best streak in ’23 (6- 0-0, 5/19-6/7)…club is 7-6-0 in series since break…the span follows a 2-6-1 stretch to end the 1st “half”…is 24-16-2 overall in series in ’23: 13-6-2 at home; 11-10-0 on the road…on the road, team has lost 2 straight and 7 of 9, going 3-8-0 in last 11 road series.
VS. NEW YORK-NL: The Rangers are at Citi Field for a 2nd straight season (1-2 from 7/1-3/22), the 1st time the teams will ever meet in consecutive campaigns…TEX is 8-12 alltime vs. NYM, having never won consecutive games…team’s 20 meetings w/ Mets are 2nd-fewest versus any of the other 29 MLB franchises: 15-STL, 20-NYM, 21-CHC/WAS, 22-CIN/PIT…TEX is 5-7 here in Queens, 4-5 at Citi Field. LATE WIN: The Rangers won last night despite a 3-2 deficit after 8 innings, the club’s 1st victory when trailing after 8 innings since 6/16/22 at DET…last night’s win ended a span in which Texas had lost 100 straight when behind thru 8 frames. Last night was just the Rangers’ 2nd road win decided in the final at-bat in ’23, both coming in series openers here in New York (also 4-2, 10-inn. win on 6/23 at NYY). It was the 2nd time in ’23 for TEX to win when trailing after 7 innings, the other a 6-5 victory on 7/16 vs. CLE.
ACTION AT THE END: Last night was the 3rd straight Rangers game decided in the 9th inning-or-later (club is 2-1)… according to Elias Sports Bureau, the Rangers had not seen 3 straight decided in the 9th-or-later since 6/29-7/1/16… last longer span was a 4-G series 9/16-19/02 at SEA (credit Elias)…the Rangers’ last win without needing 9th inning run(s) was 8/15 vs. LAA.
A BIG HIT: Nathaniel Lowe’s 2-out, 2-run, go-ahead single in the 9th inning last night provided the final margin in a 4-3 Texas win…it was just the 12th time in Rangers history for a player to post a go-ahead hit with TEX trailing on the road in the 9th inning and down to its final out…the last 5 instances prior to Lowe’s: Ezequiel Duran on 6/16/22 at DET (3-R 3B), Ian Desmond on 5/17/16 at OAK (2-R HR), Mitch Moreland on 6/19/15 at CWS (2-R 1B), Matt Treanor on 6/15/10 at FLA (2-R 3B), and Michael Young on 4/24/09 at BAL (2-R HR). Lowe’s hit had a win probability added (WPA) of 0.605 and leverage index (LI) of 9.18, both the highest for any PA by a Ranger in 2023 (credit Stathead)
TURNING THE TABLES: Last night’s blown save by Trevor Gott was the 14th pinned on an opposing reliever by Texas in ’23, the 4th in August, most in any month in ’23…the others this month: 8/5 vs. MIA (Ryan Weathers), 8/7 at OAK (Kirby Snead), 8/13 at SF (Camilo Doval).
QUANTITY OF QUALITY: Texas received a quality start last night from Jon Gray (6.0 IP, 3 R-ER), the Rangers’ 15th quality start in August, tying club’s May total (15) for most in any month since June 2019 (18)…the 18 QS in June 2019 marks only time club has had more than 15 QS in any month since the start of 2017, as club could climb closer to that figure with the last 2 G of this series.
RELIEF WORK TOO: The Rangers bullpen provided 3.0 SHO IP last night from relievers Martín Pérez (W, 2.0 IP) and José Leclerc (Sv, 1.0 IP)…it was just the 2nd relief win of Pérez’s career, the other w/ MIN on 3/31/19 vs. CLE…it was Leclerc’s 2nd save in ’23 (also 4/5 vs. BAL), the 1st scoreless save by a Ranger since Will Smith on 8/7 at OAK.
THE SEAGER SESSIONS: Last night was Corey Seager’s 13th game this season with 3+ hits, T3rd-most in the A.L. despite appearing in just 88 of the Rangers’ 131 G in ’23 (67.2%)…with 402 PA’s, Seager is just 4 PA’s shy of reaching qualifying status…with a .346/.410/.649/1.059 slash line, Seager leads the A.L. (min. 400 PA’s) in BA and OBP, ranking 2nd in SLG/OPS to only Shohei Ohtani (.304/.409/.663/1.071).
LEFTY LOVE: Despite losing 2 straight vs. left-handed starters, TEX is 17-8 in last 25 G vs. LH starters beg. 5/14 after a 6-5 open to ’23…Rangers have produced a
.275/.349/.464/.813 slash line vs. LHS in 23, ranking 4th in MLB in all 4 slash categories vs. LH starters…among Rangers who could see action tonight, 6 have OPS figures over .800 vs. LH starters: García (.953), Grossman (.937), Garver (.929), Seager (.882), Semien (.845), and Taveras (.804).
SHORTS: Last night’s win snapped 4-G losing streak in onerun games, 1st such victory since 2-1 win 8/11 at SF…Rangers’ 10-18 (.357) mark in one-run games is 3rd-lowest win pct. in MLB to SD (6-20, .231) and STL (10-23, .303)…Aroldis Chapman’s 1,135 career relief SO rank T11th in MLB history (also Mariano Rivera)…next: Francisco Rodriguez (1,142).
TONIGHT’S STARTING PITCHER – #44 Andrew Heaney, LHP (9-6, 4.34)
TONIGHT: The 32-year-old left-hander is scheduled to make his 26th start of the season in tonight against the Mets…has logged a total of 9.1 IP over his last 3 GS, but is still 2-0, 3.00 ERA (7 ER/21.0 IP), 24 SO/6 BB over GS in Aug. to cut his season ERA from 4.62 to 4.34…has gone 4-0 with a 3.47 ERA (14 ER/36.1 IP), 34 SO/13 BB over last 8 GS, dropping his season ERA from 4.71…leads TEX with 127 SO in ’23, and 9.34 SO/9 figure ranks 8th among A.L. starting pitchers (min. 25 GS)…ranks T2nd on club with 9 wins (also Dunning), as he has tied his career high for wins in a season (also ’18 w/ LAA)…3 HR allowed in last start snapped a 4 GS homerless streak (16.2 IP), and has allowed team-high 22 HR, T13th-most in A.L…122.1 IP in ’23 marks 3rd-highest innings total of his career (180.0-2018, 129.2-2021)…will be working on 4 days’ rest after he not factoring into decision of TEX’s 5-7 defeat on Thurs. at MIN (ND, 4.1 IP, 7 H, 3 R-ER, 3 HR, 1 BB, 5 SO, 76 pitches/52 strikes)…was on MLB Paternity List from 7/4-6 after his wife (Jordan) gave birth to twin daughters on 7/3…is in his first season with Texas after signing a two-year free agent contract with the club on 12/9/22…the 9-year MLB veteran has appeared in 162 games/151 starts with Miami (2014), Los Angeles-AL (2015-21), New York-AL (2021), Los Angeles-NL (2022), and Texas (2023)…an Oklahoma City native, Heaney pitched collegiately at Oklahoma State University before being selected by MIA in the first round (9th overall) of the 2012 MLB Draft…Texas has gone 14-11 in his 25 starts this season, winning 4 of the last 6 and 5 of the last 7.
LAST START: Will be working on 4 days’ rest after he did not factor into decision of Texas’ 5-7 defeat on Thurs. at MIN (ND, 4.1 IP, 7 H, 3 R-ER, 3 HR, 1 BB, 5 SO, 76 pitches/52 strikes)…exited the game in the bottom of the 5th inning after allowing 3 solo HR in the game…was removed in favor of RHP Chris Stratton with one on and 1 out, as Stratton stranded the IR…Heaney was still in line for the win after exiting the game, but Stratton allowed a solo HR to MIN’s Royce Lewis in the 6th inning that tied the game at 4-4.
AS OF LATE: Heaney as logged a total of 9.1 IP over his last 3 GS, but is still 2-0, 3.00 ERA (7 ER/21.0 IP), 24 SO/6 BB over GS in Aug. to cut his season ERA from 4.62 to 4.34…has gone 4-0 with a 3.47 ERA (14 ER/36.1 IP), 34 SO/13 BB over last 8 GS, dropping his season ERA from 4.71…since allowing 7 R-ER in his Texas debut on 4/4 vs. BAL (L, 2.2 IP, 7 R-ER), Heaney has gone 9-5, 3.91 ERA (52 ER/119.2 IP) with 125 SO/47 BB over his last 24 starts (beg. 4/10)…his ranks among A.L. starters this season (min. 25 GS): SO/9 (8th, 9.34), wins (T10th), ERA (14th), and opp. BA (16th, .250).
VS. NEW YORK-NL: Has gone 0-1, 2.03 ERA (3 ER/13.1 IP) with 13 SO/1 BB over 4 games/2 starts in his career vs. New York-NL, with his teams going 1-3 in those outings…last faced the Mets in start at Citi Field on 8/30/22 w/ LAD (ND, 5.0 IP, 7 H, 3 R-2 ER, 2 HR, 0 BB, 1 HB, 8 SO), a 4-3 Dodgers’ win…Heaney in 3 G/1 GS at Citi Field: 0-0, 2.45 ERA (2 ER/7.1 IP) with 10 SO/0 BB.
ON THE ROAD: Has seen slightly worse ERA results in 10 starts on the road (3-3, 4.41 ERA) vs. 15 starts at Globe Life Field (6-3, 4.30 ERA) this season… is 2-2, 7.03 ERA (19 ER/24.1 IP) in last 6 starts away from Arlington…opponents are batting .243/.320/.508/.828 (45-185) with 12 HR on the road against .254/.336/.420/.757 (72-283) with 10 HR at Globe Life Field.
STREAKING STRIKEOUTS: Earned win in 2nd start as a Ranger on 4/10 vs. KC, recording strikeouts of 9 consecutive batters faced from the 1st through 4th innings…9 straight SO’s were the most successive SO’s by a pitcher in TEX history, snapping single-game record of 7 set by Nolan Ryan on 7/7/91 vs. LAA and overall high of 8 done by Joe Barlow from 7/24-8/2/21…according to Elias Sports Bureau, it matched the A.L. record for successive strikeouts, as he became just 3rd A.L. pitcher to do it…the others: DET’s Tyler Alexander on 8/2/20 vs. CIN-G1, and DET’s Doug Fister on 9/27/12 vs. KC…Heaney recorded 10 total SO, 18th double-digit SO game of his career (last 10 on 8/24/22 vs. MIL w/ LAD)…last TEX left-hander w/ 10+ SO in a game? Mike Minor on 8/11/19 at MIL (11 SO).
2023: Opponents are batting .250/.330/.455/.785 (117-468) w/ 22 HR, incl. a .232 (16-69) mark with 6 XBH (HR, 3B, 4 2B) vs. LH batters…49 of 64 runs allowed have come in 1st (13), 2nd (14), or 3rd (22) inning…opp. BA/OPS by time through lineup: 1st (.268/.808), 2nd (.227/.715), 3rd (.263/.897)…9 wins in ’23 are tied for career high (also 2018 w/ LAA)…Jonah Heim has caught 18 starts (4.08 ERA), Mitch Garver has caught 5 starts (4.19), Sandy León caught 2 starts (7.59), and Sam Huff caught 2.0 SHO IP…career-best 15.2 consecutive scoreless innings from 7/26-8/6…posted season-high 11 SO on 8/1 vs. CWS (W, 6.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 11 SO, 80 pitches/55 strikes)…was his 19th career 10+ strikeout game, 2nd in ’23 (also 10 SO on 4/10 vs. KC)…became just 3rd TEX pitcher ever with 2-or-fewer H, zero BB, and 11+ SO in a start, joining Yu Darvish on 4/2/13 at HOU (8.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 14 SO) and Matt Perisho on 10/3/99 at LAA (6.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 12 SO)…posted 5.0 SHO IP in 1st 2 starts vs. Astros (4/16 at HOU; 7/2 vs. HOU) and took no decision in both outings…earned 1st road win of season on 5/27 at BAL (W, 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R-ER), posting lone ultra-quality start…matched career high w/ 8 R allowed 7/8 at WAS, same week he was on Paternity List (7/4-6) for birth of twin daughters.
NEW YORK METS NOTES:
METSCELLANEOUS: The Mets fell to the Rangers, 4-3, last night…New York has dropped three of their last four games…The Mets continue a 10-day, nine-game homestand (1-3) against the Angels (1-2), Rangers (0-1) and Mariners (three games).
EARLY BIRD SPECIAL: As reminder, tomorrow’s finale against the Rangers will begin at 6;40 p.m.
I DON’T WANT TO ROCK, DJ: In 35 games this year, DJ Stewart is batting .268 (22-82) with 10 runs, five doubles, seven home runs, 14 RBI, nine walks, a .351 OBP and a .585 SLG…Stewart recorded a career-high 12 home runs in 100 games with Baltimore in 2021.
DINGERS!: The Mets have socked 169 home runs this season…That is the fourth-most in the National League…The 2022 Mets hit 171 home runs.
INVADER NIM: Brandon Nimmo snapped an 0-21 streak with a two-run homer in the third inning…It was his 19th home run of the season…That’s a career-best…He is batting .284 (46-162) with 11 doubles, one triple, two home runs, 13 RBI, 12 walks with a .352 OBP and a .401 SLG against lefthanded pitchers this year…His .282 average is the 11th-best in the majors by a left-handed hitter against fellow lefties.
AW SNAP: Francisco Lindor had his hitting streak snapped at 13 games last night…He batted .358 (19-53) in that span with 13 runs, four doubles, two home runs, nine RBI, three walks and four steals during the streak…It was tied for his longest streak as a Met, which he also accomplished from September 14-28, 2022…Over his last 60 games, he is batting .301 (68-226) with 47 runs, 12 doubles, two triples, 12 home runs, 35 RBI, 28 walks, 17 steals with a .385 OBP, a .531 SLG and a .916 OPS…Lindor has stolen 23 bases in 130 games this season, exceeding his total from 2022 (16 steals in 161 games)…His career-best is 25 steals 158 games in 2018.
I DECLARE fWAR: Francisco Lindor ranks sixth in the majors and fourth in the National League with a 5.1 fWAR…Since he joined the Mets, Lindor has posted a 16.0 fWAR…Only Freddie Freeman (18.7) and Mookie Betts (17.7) have posted a higher mark in the Senior Circuit…His 16.0 fWAR since 2021 ranks fifth in the majors in that span.
OUCH: The Mets have been hit by 86 pitches this season…That is the second-most in the majors and the most in the National League…Since the start of last season, the Mets have been plunked 198 times, that’s 17 times more than the second-place team the Mariners…It’s 32 more times the next place team in the NL, the Cincinnati Reds who have been hit by 166 pitches in that span.
THIS IS ALMOST 40: Pete Alonso is third in the majors and second in the National League with 39 home runs…Alonso is one home run shy of recording his third season of 40 or more home runs…He socked 53 in 2019 and 40 last season…He is the only player in franchise history with multiple seasons of 40 or more home runs…Since he entered the league in 2019, only two other players have recorded multiple seasons with 40 or more home runs (Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout)… Only one active player (Nelson Cruz, four) has more than three 40-HR seasons…Alonso’s 185 home runs since he entered the league in 2019 are the most in the major leagues… With one more long ball, he’ll become the fifth player in MLB history with three or more seasons with 40+ home runs in a player’s first five years…He would join Ralph Kiner (4), Ryan Howard (3), Albert Pujols (3) and Eddie Matthews (3).
ADAM’S SONG: In 17 games following the All-Star break, Adam Ottavino is 1-1 with one save and a 1.72 ERA (3 ER/15.2 IP) with nine strikeouts…In 21 games since the start of July, Ottavino has posted a 1.40 ERA (3 ER/19.1 IP) with 12 strikeouts.
STEAL MY SUNSHINE: New York has recorded 94 steals in 105 attempts… The team’s 89.5 percent success rate is the best in the majors…It is the best percentage in franchise history….The last time the Mets stole more than 100 bases in a season was in 2014 when the team swiped 101 bags.
GIMME A BREAK: Alonso is hitting .242 (36-149) with 21 extra-base hits, 35 RBI, 23 runs, 20 walks and a .914 OPS in 42 games following the All-Star break…He batted .211 (64-304) with 50 runs, seven one triple, 26 home runs, 61 RBI and an .807 OPS in the 82 games before the break.
JEFF McHITS: Jeff McNeil has safely hit in 19 of his last 23 games, batting .322 (29-90) with 15 runs, four doubles, three home runs, 13 RBI, and five walks with a .467 SLG in that span…In 42 games following the All-Star break, McNeil is batting .285 (47-165) with 24 runs, seven doubles, one triple, three home runs, 21 RBI, eight walks with a .335 OBP…He has struck out only 14 times in 179 plate appearances following the All-Star break.
STARTING PITCHER – JOSÉ QUINTANA LHP #62
2023 STATS: 1-5, 3.73 ERA
RECENTLY: Quintana made his first start with the Mets on July 20 against his former team, the Chicago White Sox….Quintana signed a two-year contract with New York on December 9, 2022…The southpaw began the season on the IL due to a stress fracture in his rib cage…Underwent surgery on March 17.
LAST TIME OUT: Quintana made his seventh start of the season on August 23 against the Braves at Truist Park…He threw 5.1 innings and allowed five earned runs on a season-high nine hits and three walks while striking out five batters… Saw his streak of 20 straight starts allowing three earned runs or fewer come to an end…Was the longest such streak in the majors among starting pitchers (excluding openers) at the time and the longest such streak by a starter since Max Fried allowed three earned runs or fewer in 21 straight starts from June 22, 2022 – April 18, 2023.
REHAB ASSIGNMENT RECAP: Made five appearances across St. Lucie (A), Binghamton (AA) and Syracuse (AAA) as part of his rehab assignment after being placed on the 60-day IL with a left rib fracture…Threw 15.2 innings in five games, four of which were starts, pitching to a 4.60 ERA (8 ER/15.2 IP) while tallying 16 strikeouts compared to eight walks.
PARK RANGERS: Today, Quintana will make his ninth career start against the Rangers…Quintana last faced Texas on August 2, 2021 at Globe Life Field in relief with the Angels…Quintana currently owns a 2.01 ERA (7 ER/31.1 IP) against the Texas squad at home.
ACROSS LEAGUE LINES: For his career, Quintana owns a 3.43 ERA (85 ER/223.0 IP) in 41 Interleague games…That is the 11th-lowest mark among active pitchers in the majors (Min. 200.0 IP)…This season, Quintana has made four starts against Interleague opponents, including three quality starts.
HOT STREAK: Quintana’s homerless inning streak came to an end at 97.1 innings in his start on August 12 after allowing a solo homer to Tyler O’Neill to lead off the bottom of the seventh inning…The last pitcher before Quintana to reach 90.0+ homerless innings was Tyson Ross (100.0 IP) in 2015…Courtesy of Elias… Last season Quintana owned the lowest ERA (0.89) in Major League Baseball during the month of September last year and is the lowest ERA in any month in his career.
LEFT ‘EM SPEECHLESS: Reached 1,500 career strikeouts in his start vs. Colorado on August 16, 2022. Currently ranks fifth among active MLB lefties in strikeouts (1,562) behind Clayton Kershaw (2,922), Chris Sale (2,160), Madison Bumgarner (2,070) and Patrick Corbin (1,570).
