DETROIT TIGERS NOTES:
TIGERS OPEN ROAD TRIP WITH 7-2 WIN: The Tigers defeated the Rangers, 7-2, in the series opener last night. Matt Vierling finished the game with three hits, including a double, while Andy Ibáñez went 2×4 with a three-run homer. Jake Rogers added a two-run blast in the victory. Mason Englert picked up the win in relief, giving up a run on two hits with a walk and four strikeouts in 2.1 innings. Tyler Alexander worked 3.0 scoreless innings, while Jason Foley and Tyler Holton each pitched a shutout frame.
ROSTER MOVES: The Tigers have announced the following roster moves:
*Placed LHP Matthew Boyd on the 60-day injured list with a left elbow sprain
*Placed RHP Will Vest on the 15-day injured list with a right lower leg strain
*Recalled LHP Anthony Misiewicz from Triple A Toledo.
*Reinstated RHP Matt Manning from the 60-day injured list
WELCOME BACK ANDY: Playing against his former team, Andy Ibáñez made an impact in last night’s game, finishing the contest with a pair of hits, including a three-run homer, his fifth of the season. Since June 11, Ibáñez is hitting .375/.412/.688 with four doubles, a triple, three home runs and six RBI in 14 games.
RAKE ROGERS: Jake Rogers hit his team-leading 10th home run of the season last night, launching a two-run shot in the sixth inning. His 10 homers rank tied for second among American League catchers and tied for fourth among all catchers in baseball. Over his last 11 games, Rogers has gone 11×35 with two doubles, four home runs and nine RBI.
WHAT A RELIEF: The Tigers bullpen combined to throw 8.1 innings last night, allowing just one run on seven hits with 14 strikeouts. Since June 14, Detroit relievers have combined for a 2.10 ERA (60.0IP/14ER), which ranks second in the American League and third in the Majors. The Tigers bullpen also ranks fourth in the Majors in opponent batting average (.198) and fifth in WHIP (1.02).
TIGERS AND RANGERS: The Tigers and Rangers continue their season series tonight. The two teams have split their first four meetings this season. The Tigers won the season series from the Rangers last season 4-3, including winning two-of-three games in Arlington.
ON THE ROAD: The Tigers are 1-0 on their current seven-game road trip, which includes four games at Texas (1-0) and three games at Colorado (June 30-July 2). Detroit is 16-22 on the road this season. As a team, the Tigers are hitting .216/.287/.344 away from Comerica Park, while the pitching staff has compiled a 4.07 ERA
(329.2IP/149ER).
TIGERS ON THE IL:
- OF Akil Baddoo (right quad strain, 10-day IL on June 10)
- LHP Matthew Boyd (left elbow sprain, 60-day IL on June 27)
- RHP Beau Brieske (right upper arm discomfort, 60-day IL on March 30, retroactive to March 27)
- RHP Alex Faedo (right middle finger discomfort, 15-day IL on June 3, retroactive to May 31)
- OF Riley Greene (left fibula stress reaction, 10-day IL on May 31)
- 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, 60-day IL on May 12, retroactive to May 7)
- RHP Will Vest (right lower leg strain, 15-day IL on June 27)
- RHP Trey Wingenter (right biceps tendinitis, 60-day IL on April 22, retroactive to April 19)
TONIGHT’S TIGERS STARTING PITCHER
Matt Manning • 1-1, 4.63 ERA (11.2IP/6ER)
- Manning will make his third start of the season for the Tigers tonight at Texas after being reinstated from the injured list prior to the game…Manning had been sidelined since April 12 with a right foot fracture
- Made an injury rehab start with Triple A Toledo on Thursday vs. St. Paul, throwing 4.0 shutout innings with one hit, five walks and six strikeouts…last pitched for Detroit on April 11 at Toronto, allowing four runs on six hits with a walk and three strikeouts in 6.0 innings.
- Has faced the Rangers just once in his career, picking up the win on July 21, 2021 after giving up two runs, one earned, on four hits with two walks and four strikeouts in 6.0 innings…will be making his first career appearance at Globe Life Field tonight.
- Was limited to 12 starts during the 2022 season after missing much of the season due to injury…went 2-3 with a 3.43 ERA (63.0IP/24ER) and 48 strikeouts in 12 starts.
TEXAS RANGERS NOTES:
WINS AND LOSSES: Texas lost to the Tigers yesterday, 7-2, to open 0-1 on this 8-day, 8-G homestand vs. DET (0-1 + 3 G) and HOU (4 G)…Rangers have lost 3 straight and 4 of last 6 G, but are still 5-4 in last 9 G after a 2-7 span from 6/7-16… have a 7-11 record last 18 G beg. 6/7…team is still 12-11 in June, and has won 14 of 26, 18 of 31, 21 of 35, and 29 of last 47 G (beg. 5/6)…team still has A.L.-best 33-20 (.623) record since 4/28, T2nd in MLB to only ATL (34-18, .654)…TEX is 39-25 in last 64 G and 43-27 last 70 G beg. 4/9.
- At 47-31 (.603), TEX owns the 4th-best record in MLB to TB (.667, 54-27), ATL (.654, 51-27), and BAL (.623, 48-29)… club’s 47 wins rank T4th in MLB (54-TB, 51-ATL, 48-BAL, 47- ARI/TEX).
- The 47-31 mark is T3rd-best 78-G start to a season in Washington/Texas franchise history (see chart below).
- TEX is 16 G above .500, 4 shy of matching season high point of 20-over (40-20 after win 6/6 vs. STL)…it was team’s most games above .500 since end of 2016 (95-67) and the earliest date/fewest games (6/6 and 60 G) ever to reach that mark.
SERIES STUFF: TEX dropped the series in New York last weekend and have now lost 3 of last 5 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 17-7-1 overall in series this year, going 8-3-1 at home and 9-4-0 on the road…is 13-4-1 in last 18 series and 16-5-1 in last 22…TEX has gone 7-2-1 in last 10 series at GLF.
AT HOME: TEX is 24-14 (.632) at home, 3rd-best home record in A.L./MLB to TB (.773, 34-10) and BAL (.641, 25-14)… marks TEX’s best 38-G start at home since 2019 (25-13), and is T6th-best mark after 38 home games in team history (see chart)…club has won 2 of 3 and 3 of last 6 G at GLF, but is 3-6 in last 9 G at home…TEX has still won 11 of 17, 12 of 19, 16 of 25, and 21 of last 33 at GLF beg. 4/5…TEX is 110-120 all-time record at GLF (2020-23), 30-21 last 51 G here beg. 9/11/22.
- Texas leads MLB in R/G (6.29) at home in 2023, 2nd in MLB in runs at home (239) to only TB (258), which has played 6 more home contests.
VS. DETROIT: TEX is 2-2 vs. DET in ’23: 5/29-31 at DET (2- 1), 6/26-29 at TEX (0-1 + 3 G)…went 3-4 vs. DET in ’22, and has lost consecutive season series (1-6 in ’21)…club won the season series in previous 5 straight years (’15-’19)…TEX is 2-5 vs. DET all-time at GLF, losing 4 of last 5 and dropping both series here…TEX trails all-time series (251-256).
START ME UP: Marcus Semien connected for his 3rd leadoff home run of the season (also 4/1 vs. PHI, 5/24 at PIT) in the 1st inning of last night’s game…his 3 leadoff HR in 2023 are tied for the A.L. lead with LAA’s Mickey Moniak and TOR’s George Springer, and rank T3rd in MLB behind LAD’s Mookie Betts (8) and PHI’s Kyle Schwarber (4)…Semien is the 1st Ranger with 3+ leadoff HR in a single season since Shin-Soo Choo matched the club record with 7 leadoff HR in 2019.
BEAM ME UP, SIMMY: Semien reached base 3 times last night (HR, 1B, BB), and has multiple hits in 3 straight…he enters today’s slate ranked among A.L. leaders in R (1st, 63), H (2nd, 93), XBH (3rd, 36), TB (4th, 153), times on base (T4th, 126), bWAR (T4th, 3.5), and RBI (T5th, 55)…his 63 runs scored this season are already the most by a Texas batter prior to the All-Star break since Ian Desmond in 2016 (65).
WE’RE ALL ALRIGHT: Despite going 7-11 over its last 18 G (beg. 6/7), Texas still owns a winning record (12-11) and positive run differential (+16, 114 RS-98 RA) in June…the Rangers lead MLB in both runs (460) and runs per game (5.90) this season, and club’s +147 run differential is 2nd in the Majors to only Tampa Bay (+150)…that is also easily the highest run differential thru 78 G in WSH/TEX franchise history, well above the previous team record of +98 in 1996.
EL BOMBI’S HOUSE: Adolis García punched his team-leading 18th HR of the season in the 4th inning last night…he has batted .293/.365/.593/.958 (41-140) with 12 HR and 35 RBI across 38 G at Globe Life Field in 2023, ranking among MLB leaders at home in RBI (1st), HR (T1st), R (T1st, 34), TB (7th, 83), SLG (7th), and OPS (12th)…he is GLF’s all-time leader (incl. 2020 postseason) in HR (46), RBI (146), and R (122).
MARTY PARTY: In 9 seasons with Texas (2012-18, 2022- 23), Martín Pérez has gone 62-60, 4.28 ERA (496 ER/1042.0 IP) over 188 games/175 starts…with a win tonight, he would break a tie with Derek Holland (also 62 wins w/ TEX) for the 2nd-most wins by a left-handed pitcher in club history, trailing only Kenny Rogers (133)…Pérez ranks among Texas’ alltime leaders in starts (7th), innings (7th), quality starts (7th, 94), wins (T9th), and strikeouts (T11th, 687).
ZEEEEEKE: Ezequiel Duran went 2-for-4 with a double last night, and now has multiple hits in 2 straight, 4 of 5, and 6 of his last 8 G…in 19 G this month, Duran has slashed .343/.389/.552/.941 (23-67) with 2 HR, 6 2B, 7 RBI, and 12 R, raising his season BA from .301 to .315…he ranks among A.L. leaders for the month (min. 70 PA) in BA (4th), SLG (6th), OPS (6th), 2B (T8th), and OBP (T9th).
RISP TALK: The Rangers went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position last night, leaving 9 men on base…it marked the 1st time Texas has gone hitless in 10+ at-bats with RISP since 7/25/22 at SEA (also 0-for-10)…TEX is batting .205 (33-161) w/ RISP over its last 18 G (beg. 6/7), but still owns MLB’s
highest BA (.308) and OPS (.875) w/ RISP this season.
WIDE WORLD OF SBORZ: Josh Sborz enters tonight’s game scoreless in his last 10 G (15.1 IP), the longest active scoreless innings streak in the A.L. and longest by a TEX reliever in 2023…he has held opponents to a .063/.118/.083/.201 (3- 48) slash line and 2 BB/21 SO over that span.
SHORTS: Happy Birthday to Jonah Heim, who turns 28 years old today…Marcus Semien’s HR last night was his 1st off a left-handed pitcher in 2023…Texas batters struck out season-high 16 times last night, most K’s in a single game since 9/30/22 at LAA (also 16)…Nathaniel Lowe’s 129 times on base are 3rd-most in A.L. behind TB’s Randy Arozarena (134) and LAA’s Shohei Ohtani (131)…Corey Seager has reached base safely via H/BB in 16 straight G (beg. 6/10), batting .379/.461/.682/1.143 (25-66) in that span.
TONIGHT’S STARTING PITCHER – #54 Martín Pérez, LHP (7-3, 4.38)
TONIGHT: The 32-year-old southpaw is slated to make his 16th start of the season in tonight’s 2nd game of the series against the Tigers…has produced back-to-back quality starts to lower his season ERA from 4.67 to 4.38, still 7th-highest among A.L. qualifiers…will pitch on extended 5 days’ rest after tossing ultra-quality start (7.0+ IP, 2-or-fewer ER) and earning the win in Texas’ 6-3 victory on Wed. at CWS (see below)…opponents are batting .282/.336/.450/.787 (94-333) in 2023, highest opp. BA and 4th-highest opp. OPS among A.L. qualifiers…has already allowed 13 HR (1.39 HR/9) this season, 2nd-most on club (14-Heaney), this after permitting just 11 HR (0.50 HR/9) in all of 2022…made 2 starts for Venezuela in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, posting no record and a 9.82 ERA (4 ER/3.2 IP)…after returning to the Rangers on a one-year free agent deal for 2022, he elected to stay with Texas in 2023 on a one-year deal after accepting the club’s qualifying offer in November…spent the first 11 seasons of his professional career with the Rangers (2008-18), and has been with the organization for 12 of his 15 years as a pro…left the club for 3 years for brief stints with Minnesota (2019) and Boston (2020-21)…since 2016, his first full campaign after returning from ‘Tommy John’ surgery, has the 2nd-most starts (190) and 2nd-most innings pitched (1091.0) of any pitcher in the American League…saw two seasons cut short in 2014-15 following ‘Tommy John’ ligament reconstruction surgery on his left elbow on 5/19/14…Texas has gone 10-5 in his 15 starts this season.
LAST START: Snapped span of 4 straight winless starts in last outing on Wed. at CWS (W, 7.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R-2 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO, 1 HR, 100 pitches/59 strikes), guiding the Rangers to a 6-3 win…marked his 1st victory in nearly a month (last 5/24 at PIT) and 2nd ultra-quality start in June (also 7.0 IP, 1 R-0 ER on 6/5 vs. STL)… was supported with home runs by Ezequiel Duran (2-run, 4th inn.) and Jonah Heim (3-run, 5th inn.), as he exited after the 7th with a 6-3 lead.
FOREVER RANGER: Has a 62-60 record with a 4.28 ERA over 188 games/175 starts in his Rangers career, ranking among club’s all-time leaders in starts (7th), innings (7th, 1042.0), wins (T9th), and strikeouts (T11th, 687)…his 62 wins are the T2nd-most ever by a Texas left-hander (also Derek Holland), trailing only Kenny Rogers (133)…Pérez and Rogers (1909.0 IP) are the only lefties in Texas history to log 1000.0+ IP with the club.
- Since returning to Texas prior to the start of the 2022 campaign, Pérez has gone 19-11, 3.33 ERA (104 ER/280.2 IP) in 47 G/GS…ranks among qualified A.L. pitchers over that span in innings (4th), quality starts (4th, 30), starts (T5th), ground ball pct. (6th, 48.4%), HR/9 (6th, 0.77), and wins (T7th)…the only other A.L. hurlers with 30+ quality starts over the last 2 seasons? HOU’s Framber Valdez (38), CLE’s Shane Bieber (33), and NYY’s Gerrit Cole (32).
VS. DETROIT: Pérez has gone 2-5 with a 6.47 ERA (40 ER/55.2 IP) in 12 G/11 GS vs. Detroit in his career…has already faced the Tigers once this season on 5/30 at Comerica Park (ND, 4.2 IP, 7 H, 6 R-ER, 4 BB, 3 SO, 2 HR), taking no decision in a 10-6 Rangers’ win…surrendered solo homers to Andy Ibáñez and Jake Rogers in that outing…seeking his first win against the Motor City Kitties since 8/25/19 vs. DET w/ MIN (W, 6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R-ER, 1 BB, 5 SO).
AT HOME / GLOBE LIFE FIELD: Has seen far better ERA results in his 5 starts at home this season (3-1, 1.71 ERA) than his 10 starts on the road (4-2, 5.98 ERA)…has quality starts in 4 straight at home…just one of 13 HR allowed in 2023 have come at Globe Life Field (Danny Jansen on 6/16 vs. TOR)…over his last 18 starts in Arlington (beg. 4/28/22), has gone 8-3 with a 2.33 ERA (30 ER/116.0 IP) with 15 quality starts…is 8-6, 2.57 (37 ER/129.2 IP) in 22 career games/starts at Globe Life Field, and ranks among the all-time leaders at this facility (incl. 2020 postseason) in strikeouts (2nd, 122), starts (2nd, 22), and wins (T2nd, 8)…opponents have batted .238/.309/.328/.637 (116-488) with just 6 HR against Pérez in his career here at GLF
