NEW YORK YANKEES NOTES:
AT A GLANCE: The Yankees continue their seven-game road trip tonight with the first game of a four-game set at Texas (through Sun.)…are 1-2 on the road trip after losing two-of-three at Minnesota…return home on Monday for a three-game homestand vs. Cleveland (Mon.-Wed.).
Have lost two straight series after winning or splitting each of their first six series of the season.
Improved to 8-3 following a loss this season.
Are in a 16-day stretch without an off day (4/18-5/3)…are 4-5 so far over that span.
YESTERDAY’S NEWS: The Yankees defeated the Twins, 12-6, in their series finale at Target Field on Wednesday…Yankees batters recorded a season-high 12R and 14H…scored 5R in the second inning and 6R in the fourth inning…RHP Domingo Germán (6.0IP, 5H, 6ER, 2BB, 8K, 3HR, 1HP) earned the win despite allowing a season-high 6ER…SS Anthony Volpe (2-for-3, 3R, 1 double, 3RBI, 2BB) reached base a career-high four times and recorded a career-high 3RBI…DH Aaron Judge (3-for-4, 1R, 2 doubles, 3RBI, 1BB) reached base a season-high four times and recorded a season-high 3RBI with a bases-clearing double in the second inning…1B Anthony Rizzo (2-for-5, 1R, 1 double, 2RBI) hit a two-run double in the fourth inning…2B Gleyber Torres (2-for5, 2R, 1 double, 1HR, 2RBI) hit a two-run HR in the fourth inning…RF Willie Calhoun (2-for-5, 1R, 1RBI) recorded his
second straight multi-hit game…RHP Ian Hamilton (2.0IP, 1BB, 2K) and RHP Clay Holmes (1.0IP, 1K) combined to toss 3.0 scoreless innings of relief.
BRONX BOMBERS: Yankees batters scored a season-high 12R on Wednesday after scoring 8R total over their previous five games…also set season highs in hits (14) and extra-base hits (six)…went 6-for-11 with 3 doubles, 1HR, 12RBI and 2BB with RISP on Wednesday.
PITCH PERFECT: Yankees pitchers have posted a 3.36 ERA this season, the third-lowest in the Majors, trailing only Tampa Bay’s 2.74 ERA and Houston’s 3.16 ERA…their 3.60 runs allowed per game are tied with Atlanta for the second-fewest in the Majors (Tampa Bay – 2.80).
Have allowed at least 5R in each of their last four games and five of their last six games (since 4/21) after doing so just four times over their first 19 games of the season…have allowed 3R-or-fewer in 14-of-25 games this season and 2R-or-fewer in 10 of those games.
Also rank third in the Majors in opponents’ BA (.216) and WHIP (1.15), fourth in strikeouts (239) and opponents’ OBP (.295), and fifth in K/9.0IP (9.69).
LEMACHINE: INF DJ LeMahieu is hitting .438/.444/.500 (7-for-16) with 1 double, 3RBI and 1BB over his last five games since 4/22.
Is batting .317/.396/.463 (13-for-41) with 6R, 3 doubles, 1HR, 7RBI, 4BB and 2HP in his last 12 games (since 4/11).
Has reached base in 16-of-21 games this season.
Is hitting .368/.409/.474 (7-for-19) with 2 doubles, 8RBI and 2BB with RISP this season.
Has gone 6-for-12 with 1HR in his career off LHP Andrew Heaney.
NOBODY BEATS THE RIZZ: INF Anthony Rizzo is batting .308/.375/.554 (20-for-65) with 9R, 4 doubles, 4HR, 9RBI, 4BB and 3HP in his last 17 games (since 4/9).
Has reached base in 20 of his first 24 games this season…has recorded a hit in 19-of-24 games this year.
Is batting .353/.476/.412 (6-for-17) with 1 double, 3BB and 1HP vs. left-handed pitchers this season. GLEYBER DAY: INF Gleyber Torres hit his third home run of the season on Wednesday with a two-run home run…has reached base in each of his last six games, batting .304 (7-for-23) with 4R, 1 double, 1HR, 2RBI and 3BB in that span.
Has 17BB in 24 games this season, the fourth-most in the AL and tied for the seventh-most in the Majors…did not record his 17th walk in 2022 until his 69th game of the season on 6/30/22 at Houston.
COLE TRAIN: RHP Gerrit Cole will make his sixth start of the season tonight…is 4-0 with a 0.79 ERA (34.0IP, 3ER) and 36K in five starts this season…according to Elias, his 0.79 ERA is the third-lowest ERA in franchise history by a Yankees starter through his first five games of a season (since ER became an official stat in 1913), trailing only Ed Lopat’s 0.60 ERA in 1951 and Spud Chandler’s 0.60 ERA in 1946…Ray Keating posted a 0.44 ERA through his first five starts in 1913 but made relief appearances between those starts.
Owns a 20.2 scoreless inning streak (since 4/11), the second-longest scoreless streak of his career(21.2-inning streak from 8/16-9/1/21)…is the third-longest scoreless streak by a Yankees starting pitcher in the last 12 years (since 2012), trailing his own 21.2-inning streak in 2021 and Masahiro Tanaka’s 21.1 scoreless inning streak from 7/15-8/5/18.
Ranks second in the Majors in innings pitched (34.0), is tied for second in wins (4), ranks third in ERA (0.79), opponents’ BA (.155), opponents’ SLG (.200) and opponents’ OPS (.430), fourth in WHIP (0.79) and eighth in opponents’ OBP (.230).
Is one of six pitchers to go 4-0-or-better this season…joins Minnesota’s Joe Ryan (5-0), Baltimore’s Kyle Gibson (4-0), Toronto’s Yusei Kikuchi (4-0), Tampa Bay’s Shane McClanahan (4-0) and Chicago-NL’s Justin Steele (4-0).
The Yankees are 5-0 in his starts this season…is one of six starting pitchers this season to make at least five starts and have their team win each of those starts…joins Texas’ Jacob deGrom (club is 5-0 in 5GS), Tampa Bay’s Shane McClanahan (club is 5-0 in 5GS), Atlanta’s Spencer Strider (club is 5-0 in 5GS), Minnesota’s Joe Ryan (club is 5-0 in 5GS) and Toronto’s Yusei Kikuchi (club is 5-0 in 5GS).
Has not allowed a home run this season while tossing an AL-leading 34.0 innings.
His 14.35 K/9.0IP ratio (127K/79.2IP) vs. the Rangers is the highest by any Major League pitcher against any team (min. 50.0IP).
Is just the fourth Yankees starting pitcher in the last 42 seasons (since 1982) to toss at least 5.0IP and allow 2R-or-fewer in each of his first five games of a season (Hideki Irabu-first seven in 1998; Phil Hughes-first six in 2010; David Cone-first five in 1999)…if he were to
extend the streak today, he would be just the fifth starting pitcher in franchise history to toss at least 5.0IP and allow 2R-or-fewer in each of his first six games of a season…would join Hideki Irabu (first seven in 1998), Phil Hughes (first six in 2010), Dave Righetti (first six in 1981) and Ray Fisher (first six in 1914)…Bill Monbouquette did so in his first six appearances in 1968 but only started five of those games.
NEW KID ON THE BLOCK: INF Anthony Volpe reached base a career-high four times and drove in a career-high three runs on Wednesday at Minnesota…has reached base in 13 of his last 14 games, batting .292/.424/.458 (14-for-48) with 8R, 2 doubles, 2HR, 7RBI, 11BB and 5SB in that span.
Has reached base multiple times in eight of his last 12 games, posting a .442 OBP in that span.
Is batting .279/.404/.465 (12-for-43) with 7R, 2 doubles, 2HR, 7RBI and 9BB when batting leadoff in the starting lineup.
Is 8-for-8 in stolen base attempts…is one of three players in the Majors to be 8-for-8-or-better in stolen base attempts.
His 8SB are tied for the third-most in the AL and tied for the seventh-most in the Majors.
Has 11BB in his last 12 games…his 16BB are tied for the fifth-most by a Yankee through his first 25 career games.
Has reached base in 5-of-12 first-inning plate appearances.
MATCHING UP: The Yankees are 10-3 in their last 13 games
vs. Texas…have won or split six of their last seven series vs. the Rangers (going 5-1-1 since 8/9/18).
TONIGHT’S STARTING PITCHER: RHP GERRIT COLE (4-0, 0.79 ERA)
RHP Gerrit Cole will make his sixth start of the season in tonight’s series opener at Texas…the 32-year-old will pitch on regular four days’ rest…did not record a decision in his last start on 4/22 vs. Toronto despite tossing 5.2 scoreless innings (4H, 2BB, 4K, 1HP)…is 4-0 with a 0.79 ERA (34.0IP, 3ER) and 36K in five starts this season…according to Elias, his 0.79 ERA is the third-lowest ERA in franchise history by a Yankees starter through his first five games of a season (since ER became an official stat in 1913), trailing only Ed Lopat’s 0.60 ERA in 1951 and Spud Chandler’s 0.60 ERA in 1946…in his third year with the Yankees in 2022, went 13-8 with a 3.50 ERA (200.2IP, 154H, 81R/78ER, 50BB, 257K, 33HR) in 33 regular season starts…his Major League-leading 257K last season were the most by a Yankees pitcher in a single season in franchise history, surpassing Ron Guidry’s previous record of 248K in 1978…the five-time All-Star (2015, ’18-19, ’21-22) has finished in the top-five of Cy Young Award voting five times (second in 2021, fourth in 2020, second in 2019, fifth in 2018, fourth in 2015)…his career 10.51 K/9.0IP ratio (1,966K/1,684.0IP) is the eighth-highest in Major League history (min. 1,000.0IP)…in 80 starts with the Yankees, is 40-19 with a 3.11 ERA (489.0IP, 169ER) and 630K…since 2018, leads the Majors in wins (75), strikeouts (1,232) and innings pitched (901.2), ranks second in
K/9.0IP (12.30), third in opponents’ BA (.201) and WAR among pitchers (24.6 – FanGraphs), fourth in winning percentage (.721, 75-29, min. 60 decisions) and WHIP (0.99), fifth in K/BB (5.36) and ERA (2.91)…was originally selected by the Yankees in the first round (28th overall) of the 2008 MLB First-Year Player Draft but did not sign and went on to play at UCLA for three seasons (2009-11)…was the first overall pick of the 2011 First-Year Player Draft, the 15th pitcher (and 11th right-hander) to be chosen first…is the fifth player selected first overall to play for the Yankees, joining Alex Rodriguez, Darryl Strawberry, Tim Foli and Ron Blomberg…signed a nine-year contract extending through the 2028 season with a player opt-out following the 2024 season on 12/18/19.
LAST START: Did not record a decision in the Yankees’ 3-2 win vs. Toronto on Saturday despite tossing 5.2 scoreless innings (4H, 2BB, 4K, 1HP)…extended his scoreless streak to 20.2 innings.
2023: Is 4-0 with a 0.79 ERA (34.0IP, 3ER) and 36K in five starts this season…according to Elias, his 0.79 ERA is the third-lowest ERA in franchise history by a Yankees starter through his first five games of a season (since ER became an official stat in 1913), trailing only Ed Lopat’s 0.60 ERA in 1951 and Spud Chandler’s 0.60 ERA in 1946…Ray Keating posted a 0.44 ERA through his first five starts in 1913 but made relief appearances between those starts.
Ranks second in the Majors in innings pitched (34.0), is tied for second in wins (4), ranks third in ERA (0.79), opponents’ BA (.155), opponents’ SLG (.200) and opponents’ OPS (.430), fourth in WHIP (0.79) and eighth in opponents’ OBP (.230).
Three of his five starts this season have been scoreless…has allowed 1R-or-fewer in four of his five starts.
Has recorded at least 8K in three of his five starts this season.
Is just the fourth Yankees starting pitcher in the last 42 seasons (since 1982) to toss at least 5.0IP and allow 2R-or-fewer in each of his first five games of a season (Hideki Irabu- first seven in 1998; Phil Hughes-first six in 2010; David Cone-first five in 1999)…if he were to extend the streak today, he would be just the fifth starting pitcher in franchise history to toss at least 5.0IP and allow 2R-or-fewer in each of his first six games of a season…would join Hideki Irabu (first seven in 1998), Phil Hughes (first six in 2010), Dave Righetti (first six in 1981) and Ray Fisher (first six in 1914)…Bill Monbouquette did so in his first six appearances of 1968 but only started five of those games.
Has not allowed a home run this season while tossing an AL-leading 34.0 innings…his five-start homerless streak matches the fourth-longest of his career (10G from 5/26-8/13/16, 8G from 7/9-8/20/18 and 6G from 5/29-8/26/14)…marks his longest since a five-start streak from 4/6-30/21.
Has allowed 4H-or-fewer in four of his five starts.
Has received 3R-or-fewer of support in four of his five starts.
Today will mark just his second road start of the year…four of his five starts have come at home.
Tossed his fourth career shutout on 4/16 vs. Minnesota (9.0IP, 2H, 1BB, 10K)…marked his seventh career complete game (first since 7/17/21 vs. Boston–6.0IP) and his fourth career nine-inning complete game…was just the third Yankee (fourth time) in the last 22 years (since 2002) to throw a nine-inning shutout and allow three-or-fewer baserunners, joining Corey Kluber (1BB in his no-hitter on 5/19/21 at Texas) and Masahiro Tanaka (2H and 1BB on 6/17/19 vs. Tampa Bay and 3H on 4/27/17 at Boston).
Was named the AL “Player of the Week” for 4/10-16 after going 2-0 with a 1.13 ERA (16.0IP, 7H, 2ER, 3BB, 13K, 0HR) in two starts…marked Cole’s second career “Player of the Week” honor (also 9/23-29/19 with Houston)…was just the third Yankees starting pitcher (fourth time) to win the Award since 2004, joining Corey Kluber (5/17-23/21 and 4/26-5/2/21) and Michael Pineda (5/4-10/15).
BLANK SPACE: Owns a 20.2 scoreless inning streak (since 4/11), the second-longest scoreless streak of his career…trails only a 21.2 scoreless inning streak from 8/16-9/1/21…is the third-longest scoreless streak by a Yankees starting pitcher in the last 12 years (since 2012), trailing his own 21.2-inning streak in 2021 and Masahiro Tanaka’s 21.1 scoreless inning streak from 7/15-8/5/18.
With his current 20.2 scoreless inning streak (since 4/11) and his season-opening 12.0 scoreless inning streak (3/30-4/5), he is the only pitcher in the Majors this season to record two scoreless streaks of at least 12.0 innings.
WINNING WAYS: Has won four of his first five starts this season…is one of six pitchers this season to go 4-0-or-better…joins Minnesota’s Joe Ryan (5-0), Baltimore’s Kyle Gibson (4-0), Toronto’s Yusei Kikuchi (4-0), Tampa Bay’s Shane McClanahan (4-0) and Chicago-NL’s Justin Steele (4-0).
The Yankees are 5-0 in his starts this season…is one of six starting pitchers this season to make at least five starts and have their team win each of those starts…joins Texas’ Jacob deGrom (club is 5-0 in 5GS), Tampa Bay’s Shane McClanahan (club is 5-0 in 5GS), Atlanta’s Spencer Strider (club is 5-0 in 5GS), Minnesota’s Joe Ryan (club is 5-0 in 5GS) and Toronto’s Yusei Kikuchi (club is 5-0 in 5GS).
IN PINSTRIPES: In 80 starts with the Yankees, is 40-19 with a 3.11 ERA (489.0IP, 169ER) and 630K…has allowed 3ER-or-fewer in 62-of-80 starts…has allowed 2ER-or-fewer in 53 starts as a Yankee, the second-most such starts in the AL and tied for the fourth-most such starts in the Majors in that stretch…has recorded 17 scoreless starts as a Yankee, the most scoreless starts by any AL pitcher in that span.
His 40 wins since 2020 are the most in the AL and the second-most in the Majors over that stretch, trailing only Julio Urías (43-12).
His 630K since 2020 are the most in the Majors…his 11.60 K/9.0IP ratio in that span is the best in the Majors (min. 400.0IP)…has finished in the top-five of Cy Young Award voting in two of his first three seasons in pinstripes (second in 2021, fourth in 2020).
His 23 double-digit strikeout games as a Yankee are tied with Ron Guidry for the most in franchise history.
KING OF THE HILL: Since 2018, leads the Majors in wins (75), strikeouts (1,232) and innings pitched (901.2), ranks second in K/9.0IP (12.30), third in opponents’ BA (.201) and WAR among pitchers (24.6 – FanGraphs), fourth in winning percentage (.721, 75-29, min. 60 decisions) and WHIP (0.99), fifth in K/BB (5.36) and ERA (2.91).
Has recorded 16 scoreless starts of at least 5.0 innings since 2021, the most in the Majors in that span.
VS. TEXAS: Is 5-4 with a 3.84 ERA (79.2IP, 34ER) and 127K in 13 career starts vs. the Rangers…nine of his 13 starts vs. Texas have been quality starts…has recorded double-digit strikeouts in six of those 13 starts, including four of the last six…has allowed 2ER-or-fewer in eight of his 13 starts…has allowed 14 of his 36R vs. the Rangers in two starts (career-high 9R on 4/20/19 at Texas with Houston and 5R on 5/17/21 at Texas).
His 14.35 K/9.0IP ratio vs. the Rangers is the highest by any Major League pitcher against any team (min. 50.0IP).
Went 0-1 with a 2.19 ERA (12.1IP, 3ER) in two starts vs. Texas in 2022…faced Texas in Game 1 on 5/8/22 at Yankee Stadium and did not record a decision despite allowing just 1ER in 6.1IP (5H, 1BB, 10K, 1HR)…also made his final regular season start of 2022 in Game 2 on 10/4/22 at Texas and took the loss (6.0IP, 6H, 3R/2ER, 0BB, 9K, 1HR)…struck out Nathaniel Lowe swinging in the first inning for his 249th strikeout of the season, surpassing Ron Guidry’s 248K in 1978 to set a new franchise single-season strikeout record.
Is 0-2 with a 5.73 ERA (11.0IP, 7ER) in two career starts at Globe Life Field…is 3-4 with a 4.82 ERA (52.1IP, 28ER) and 81K in nine career road starts vs. the Rangers.
STRIKEOUT MACHINE: Has recorded double-digit strikeouts in 44 games since the start of 2019, marking the most in the Majors over the span (next: Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom with 28)…his 52 games with at least 10K since the beginning of 2018 are also the most in the Majors in that span (next: Max Scherzer-46).
Has recorded at least 8K in three of his five starts this season…has posted a 9.53 K/9.0IP ratio (36K/34.0IP).
Is one of six pitchers this season to record multiple double-digit strikeout games.
TEXAS RANGERS NOTES:
WINS AND LOSSES: Texas suffered a walk-off loss yesterday in Cincinnati, losing 5-3, as club had a 0-3 record on the brief 3-G road trip at CIN…have lost season-high 3 straight after a 10-3 span from 4/9-23…marks longest skid since a 0-7 span from 9/28-10/4/22…have dropped 4 of 6, but are still 6-4 in last 10 G and 10-6 in last 16 G beg. 4/9…Rangers still have the 4th-best record in the A.L. at 14-10 (.583), trailing TB (20-5, .800), BAL (16-8, .667), and TOR (16-9, .640)…club’s 14 wins are T4th-most in the A.L…have an 11-10 record last 21 G since club’s 3-0 start to the season.
• Team currently sits 4 games above .500…Texas has been .500-or-better following every game in 2023…high-water mark for the season was 7-over after win on Sun. vs. OAK (14-7), which was the 1st time TEX had been 7-over since 7/13/19 (50-43)…the current 14-10 record is still the best 24-G start for the Rangers since 2016 (14-10), and matches best start for TEX since a 15-9 start in 2014…TEX recorded its 14th win in 2022 on May 15.
• TEX has 14 wins with 4 G remaining in April…it is already Rangers’ highest win total by end of April since 2019 (14), and last 2 higher figures reached were 15 wins in 2014 and 17 wins in 2013.
STANDINGS: The Rangers remain in 1st place in the A.L. West with a 0.5-game lead over 2nd-place HOU, smallest lead since being tied for 1st place on 4/13 (+0.0 GA)…TEX has lost 2.0 games in the division during the current 3-G losing skid…have had sole possession of 1st place in the West for 13 straight days and 18th days overall in 2023…reached a season-best 3.5-game lead in the West with off day on 4/20, which was team’s largest lead in the West since the end of the 2016 campaign (won division by 9.0 games)…TEX has been alone or tied atop the division for 27 of the season’s first 28 days (lone exception: 4/8)…from 2017-22, the Rangers had one day in which it held, or was tied for, 1st place in the West (1-0 on 7/24/20, tied for division lead).
SERIES STUFF: The 0-3 finish in Cincinnati marked Rangers’ 1st winless series in ‘23 (last 0-3, 9/30-10/2/22 at LAA)…TEX is 5-3-0 overall in series this year, going 3-1-0 at home 2-2-0 on the road…prior to the series loss at CIN, Rangers had won 4 straight series from 4/10-23, just 2nd time since the start of 2021 to win 4 in a row since going 5-0-0 from 6/15-7/1/18…team has gone undefeated in 2 series: 3-0, 3/30-4/2 vs. PHI; and 3-0, 4/17-19 at KC…the latter marked Rangers’ 1st undefeated road series of 3+ games since 9/5-8/19 at BAL (4-0).
AT HOME: The Rangers are 8-4 (.667) at home to begin the year, this after starts of 3-9 (in 2022) and 4-8 (in 2021) at GLF the past 2 years…the .667 home win pct. is T4th-best in MLB (14-2, .875-TB; 7-2, .778-TOR; 9-4, .692-BAL; 8-4, .667-TEX/PIT)…Rangers’ 8th home win in 2022 did not come until May 16…Rangers have a 94-110 all-time record at Globe Life Field (2020-23).
VS. NEW YORK-AL: TEX and NYY meet for 2 series in 2023 (4 G this weekend at GLF, 3 G 6/23-25 at NYY)…TEX was 3-4 vs. NYY in 2022 and team is 0-3-2 in season series beginning 2017 (DNP in 2020), with last season series victory coming in 2016 (4-3)…Rangers won final 2 G in 2022, but have dropped 3 of 5, going 3-10 in last 13 G and 10-19 in last 29 G beg. 9/9/17…TEX has a 3-5 record vs. NYY at GLF…NYY lead all-time, 279-208, and teams are even 120-120 in Arlington.
DIFFERENT LOOK: The Rangers are hosting the Yankees for the 2nd time in a span of 6 series at Globe Life Field, as clubs met here for 4 G to end the 2022 campaign (10/3-5/22)…at time of that series, Rangers were headed for a 94-loss season and Yankees were headed to the playoffs… clubs enter the weekend with similar records and 2 of the league’s top 5 run differentials (TEX: +56, NYY: +18).
A RUN OF QUALITY: With yesterday’s outing by Jon Gray (6.0 IP, 3 R-ER), the Texas rotation has now made 5 consecutive quality starts for the 1st time since 7 in a row from 6/23-30/19…staff had 4 total quality starts in the 1st 19 games before the current run of 5 in a row…last run of even 3 straight QS had not happened since 3 in a row, 5/30-6/1/22…the series in Cincinnati marked the 1st time for TEX to lose 3 straight games, all with quality starts, since a 0-3 span from 5/25-27/19.
OFFENSE STILL GOING: While Texas was unable to convert a bases-loaded, no-outs situation in the 2nd inning yesterday, club scored game-tying run in the 9th to keep the Rangers in the game…Rangers lead MLB with 6.42 runs per game and rank 2nd in MLB with 154 R on the season, just behind Tampa Bay (157)…TEX batters have the A.L.’s 2nd-highest OPS at .781 (TB-.858).
• TEX has scored 3+ runs in 10 consecutive games, tied for longest span in MLB in ‘23 (also ARI and TOR)…it matches longest span for TEX since start of 2020 (last 10 G, 9/6-16/22), with last streak longer than 10 G being 13 G from 7/21-8/4/19.
• Despite going 2-for-9 with RISP yesterday, Texas continues to lead MLB with a .360 BA (77-214) with RISP, well ahead of next-closest team (TB-.316)…Rangers’ 1.033 OPS w/ RISP also leads MLB (MIN next at .951).
THE LONG BALL: Texas batters went homerless in yesterday’s series finale, snapping club’s HR streak at a season-high 9 G…offense enters this homestand having hit HR in 8 straight and 11 of 12 overall at home this season…Rangers rank 5th in MLB with 1.67 HR/G at home in ‘23…the current 8-G HR streak at home is T3rd-longest by Rangers at Globe Life Field, trailing a pair of 11-G runs (5/15-6/5/22 and 8/18-9/14/22).
CLOSE AND LATE: The Rangers suffered 3 straight last atbat defeats in Cincinnati…club has lost 4 times in the last 10 G, all last at-bat losses, all by one-or-2 runs…in fact, since a 2-1 win on 4/2 vs. PHI, Texas has lost each of its last 6 games decided by one-or-2 runs (1-6 on the season)…Rangers have 6 losses by one-or-2 runs, and each of club’s other 4 losses have been by a run margin of 5-or-more.
HEIM TIME: Jonah Heim’s leadoff double in the 9th last night led to the game-tying run, as he is batting .333 (15-45) with a 1.113 OPS, 4 HR, 3 2B, and 15 RBI over his last 14 G/13 GS beg. 4/9…Heim leads all qualifying A.L. catchers in BA (.295) and OPS (.946)…also lead all A.L. backstops (games at C only) in RBI (17), TB (34), hits (tied-18), XBH (tied-8).
HEANEY ON MOUND: Andrew Heaney enters tonight’s outing having gone 2-0 with a 1.13 ERA (2 ER/16.0 IP) in his last 3 starts, posting a .167/.281/.204/.485 slash line w/ 7 BB/18 SO, and no HR allowed to drop ERA to season-low 4.34…Heaney has won back-to-back starts at Globe Life Field (2-0, 11.0 IP, 3 R-2 ER), one of those featuring his A.L. record-tying 9 consecutive strikeouts (4/10 vs. KC).
ROOF REPORT: With the forecast projecting temperatures in the mid-60’s tonight, the roof at Globe Life Field is expected to be open for the series opener against the Yankees…it will be the 5th time in last 6 G at GLF for roof to be open, as it was closed on Sun. vs. OAK due to rain in the forecast.SHORTS: Radio broadcaster Matt Hicks is out today due to illness, and Jared Sandler will be joined by former Ranger Mike Bacsik for tonight’s radio broadcast airing on KRLD 1080 AM…5 of the Rangers’ 10 losses this season have come in Interleague road contests…TEX has committed 11 of its 16 errors on the road…TEX has multiple SB in 3 of last 4 G, this after 6 total steals over team’s 1st 20 G to begin
the year.
TONIGHT’S STARTING PITCHER – #44 Andrew Heaney, LHP (2-1, 4.34)
TONIGHT: The 31-year-old left-hander is scheduled to make his 5th appearance/start of the season in tonight’s homestand opener against the Yankees…is 2-0, 1.13 (2 ER/16.0 IP) last 3 starts with .167/.281/.204/.485 slash, 7 BB/18 SO and no HR allowed to drop season ERA to season-low 4.34, this after allowing 7 R-ER over 2.2 IP in his TEX debut on 4/4 vs. BAL…earned win w/ 1st quality start as a Ranger in last outing on Sat. vs. OAK, benefitting from the Ranges’ offensive outburst and a record-setting night for Adolis García in 18-3 win (W, 6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R-ER)…in 1st win as a Ranger on 4/10 vs. KC, set a club record with 9 successive strikeouts, which matched the American League record…will be making his 4th start of the season at Globe Life Field…is one of 3 rotation member to make his Rangers debut in a start this season (also deGrom, Eovaldi), and he was the 26th and final member of TEX’s Opening Day roster to appear in 2023…Heaney is in his first season with Texas after signing a two-year free agent contract with the club on 12/9/22…is seeking to build on a 2022 campaign in which he produced career bests in ERA (3.10), WHIP (1.087), and strikeout rate (13.6 SO/9) with the Los Angeles Dodgers despite being limited by a pair of Injured List stints…from 2019-22, ranked among Major League pitchers (min. 350.0 IP) in strikeouts per 9 innings (9th, 11.07), swing-and-miss strike pct. (14th, 13.8%), strikeout pct. (15th, 28.8%), and strikeout-to-walk ratio (21st, 4.11)…the 9-year MLB veteran has appeared in 141 games/130 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 the Miami Marlins in the first round (9th overall) of the 2012 MLB Draft…TEX has gone 3-1 in Heaney’s 4 starts this season.
LAST START: Earned win in Rangers’ 18-3 victory on Sat. vs. OAK (W, 6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R-ER, 2 BB, 4 SO, 0 HR, 1 HBP, 97 pitches/64 strikes)…it was his 3rd quality start since the beginning of 2022, last on 8/24/22 vs. MIL while w/ LAD…Rangers were led by Adolis García (5-5, 3 HR, 2 2B, 8 RBI, 5 R), who became 2nd player in MLB history with at least 5 XBH and 8 RBI in one game (also Josh Hamilton in 4-HR game, 5/8/12 at BAL…allowed 2 R on 2 H in 1st inning, but escaped jam with a 5-4-3 GIDP…did not allow a run over final 5.0 IP.
VS. NEW YORK-AL: Former Yankee (2021) will be facing NYY for 1st time since he pitched for the club…is 1-2, 5.47 (16 ER/26.1 IP) in 5 G/GS in his career vs. NYY, all while he was with the Angels…s 0-2, 14.63 (13 ER/8.0 IP) in last 2 GS vs. NYY, both games in the Bronx (9/19/19 and 6/29/21)…Angels scored a total of 8 runs of support in his 5 starts vs. NYY (2.73 RSA)…his lone win vs. NYY was his 1st ML win on 6/30/15 in Anaheim (7.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R-ER), game in which Yankees lineup included Chris Young, Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, Carlos Beltran, Chase Headey, and Stephen Drew.
STREAKING STRIKEOUTS: Earned the win in his 2nd start as a Ranger on 4/10 vs. KC, recording strikeouts of 9 consecutive batters faced from the 1st through 4th innings…the 9 straight K’s marked the most successive strikeouts by a pitcher in Rangers history, snapping the single-game record of 7 set by Nolan Ryan on 7/7/91 vs. LAA and the overall high of 8 done by Joe Barlow from 7/24-8/2/21…according to Elias Sports Bureau, it matched the American League record for successive strikeouts, as Heaney became just the 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 on the night, the 18th double-digit strikeout game of his career (last 10 on 8/24/22 vs. MIL w/ LAD) and 2nd by a Texas pitcher at that point in 2023 (also 11 by Jacob deGrom on 4/5 vs. BAL)…the last left-handed Rangers pitcher with 10+ SO in a single game was Mike Minor on 8/11/19 at MIL (11 SO)…it also marked the 6th instance in club history (beg. 1972) for a pitcher to punch out 10-or-more batters in 5.0-or-fewer innings, last Dane Dunning on 5/9/21 vs. SEA (5.0 IP, 10 SO).
AT HOME: Will be starting at home for 4th time in his 1st 5 starts in 2023…has won back-to-back starts at Globe Life Field (2-0, 11.0 IP, 7 H, 3 R-2 ER, 4 BB, 14 SO), this after taking loss in TEX debut on 4/4 vs. BAL (2.2 iP, 7 R-ER)…is averaging 10.54 SO/9 in his 3 home starts…for his career, has seen more success at home (24-21, 4.28 ERA, 74 G/67 GS) than in his away outings (14-22, 4.87 ERA, 67 G/63 GS)…the former Angels hurler (2015-21) was a career 1-5 w/ 7.07 ERA (28 ER/35.2 IP) in 7 career games/starts against the Rangers in Arlington… entered the year having lost both career starts at GLF while with LAA: 8/9/20 (L, 3.2 IP, 5 R-ER) and 9/8/20 (L, 5.0 IP, 5 R-3 ER).
2023: Opponents are batting .232 (16-69) w/ 2 HR, including a .154 (2-13) mark with one XBH (2B) for LH batters…both HR allowed came in 1st 2 pitches of the at-bat (0-0 and 0-1 counts), and both came w/ 2 outs in the inning…opponents are 3-for-20 overall w/ 2 outs in an inning…his 5.0+ IP with 0 ER allowed on 4/10 vs. KC and 4/16 at HOU marked 1st time of his career to do so in consecutive outings…he is the only Ranger starter this season to accomplish such feat in back-to-back starts, and 1st Texas starter to do it since Jon Gray (7/13-21/22 vs. OAK and at MIA).
