NEW YORK YANKEES NOTES:
AT A GLANCE: The Yankees conclude their seven-game road trip today with the final game of a four-game set at Texas (1-2 thus far.)…are 2-4 on the road trip after losing two-of-three at Minnesota and losing two of the first three games in their current series at Texas… return home on Monday for a three-game homestand vs. Cleveland (Mon.-Wed.).
Are 8-4 following a loss this season.
Have won or split six of their eight completed series this season (going 5-2-1).
Are in a 16-day stretch without an off day (4/18- 5/3)…are 5-7 so far over that span.
YESTERDAY’S NEWS: The Yankees fell to the Rangers, 2-0, in the third game of their four-game set at Globe Life Field on Saturday…Yankees batters were shut out for the first time this season…the club’s 3H also marked a season low…RHP Jhony Brito (5.0IP, 4H, 2ER, 1BB, 5K, 1HR) recorded the loss despite allowing just 2ER over 5.0IP…his 5.0IP matched his career high…Isiah KinerFalefa (1-for-3) recorded the first Yankees hit with a single in the third inning…1B Anthony Rizzo (1-for4) hit a leadoff single in the fourth inning…DH Willie Calhoun (1-for-3) collected a leadoff single in the fifth inning…RHP Ron Marinaccio (1.0IP, 2BB, 2K), RHP Ian Hamilton (1.0IP, 1H) and LHP Wandy Peralta (1.0IP,
1HP) each tossed a scoreless inning in relief…LF Jake Bauers left the game in the second inning with a right knee contusion.
NOBODY BEATS THE RIZZ: INF Anthony Rizzo is batting .307/.381/.520 (23-for-75) with 10R, 4 doubles, 4HR, 9RBI, 5BB and 4HP in his last 20 games (since 4/9). Has reached base in 23 of his first 27 games this season.
Has recorded a hit in 22-of-27 games this year…his 22 games are tied for the most in the AL and tied for the third-most in the Majors.
Is hitting .333/.440/.381 (7-for-21) with 1 double, 3BB and 1HP vs. left-handed pitchers this season.
PITCH PERFECT: Yankees pitchers have posted a 3.35 ERA this season, the third-lowest in the Majors, trailing only Tampa Bay’s 2.81 ERA and Houston’s 3.26 ERA… their 3.54 runs allowed per game are the third-fewest in the Majors (Tampa Bay – 2.86, Atlanta – 3.52).
Have allowed just 99R in 28 games this season, matching their third-fewest runs allowed through their first 28 games in a season in the last 42 years since 1982 (75R in 2022, 96R in 2021 and 99R in 2002 and 2010).
Have allowed 3R-or-fewer in 16-of-28 games this season and 2R-or-fewer in 12 of those games.
Also rank second in the Majors in opponents’ BA (.216), third in strikeouts (267) and WHIP (1.14), fourth in opponents’ OBP (.294), fifth in K/9.0IP (9.73), sixth in K/BB (3.10) and seventh in opponents’ OPS (.667).
WILLIE THE KID: OF Willie Calhoun has hit safely in each of his last four games, hitting .400 (6-for-15) with 1R and 2RBI over that span.
Has reached base in each of his last seven starts and in nine of his 10 starts this season.
Has recorded 1RBI in two of his last three games after collecting just 1RBI in his first eight games this season.
MATCHING UP: The Yankees are 11-5 in their last 16 games vs. Texas…have won or split six of their last seven completed series vs. the Rangers (going 5-1-1 since 8/9/18).
THE WIZARD OF OZ: INF Oswald Peraza has reached base in 10-of-31 plate appearances this season (4H/3BB/3HP).
NASTY NESTOR: LHP Nestor Cortes will make his sixth start of the season today…is 3-1 with a 3.49 ERA (28.1IP, 11ER) and 28K in five starts this season.
Has allowed 3ER-or-fewer in each of his last 17 starts (since 7/14/22), tied with Spud Chandler (17GS from 7/7/43-4/22/44) and Bob Shawkey (17GS from 6/15-9/18/1917) for the fourth-longest by a Yankees pitcher since 1913 (when ER became an official stat)…trails only Jim Bouton (24GS from 9/23/65-6/3/68), his own 19-start streak (8/15/21-6/2/22-G1) and Fritz Peterson (18GS from 7/16/70-G1-4/9/71)… has gone 8-2 with a 2.48 ERA (98.0IP, 27ER) in that span.
Has allowed 3R-or-fewer in 42-of-47 starts since the beginning of 2021 and 2R-or-fewer in 35 of those starts…in 55 appearances (47 starts) since the beginning of 2021, has gone 17-8 with a 2.70 ERA (279.2IP, 84ER), 294K and a .203 (208-for-1,023) opponents’ BA…his 2.70 ERA in that span is the second-lowest in the AL and the fifth-lowest in the Majors (min. 200.0IP), trailing only Max Scherzer (2.46 ERA), Shohei Ohtani (2.62 ERA), Max Fried (2.62 ERA) and Carlos Rodón (2.67 ERA).
Left-handed batters are hitting .095/.136/.143 (2-for21) against him this season.
PEN PALS: Yankees relievers have posted a Major League-best 2.33 ERA (104.1IP, 27ER) this season…rank second in the Majors in opponents’ BA (.195), third in opponents’ OPS (.611), fifth in opponents’ SLG (.318) and tied for seventh in strikeouts (113).
Currently own a season-long 13.1 scoreless inning streak since the seventh inning on Tuesday (previous: 13.0IP from 4/2-5)…marks the longest scoreless streak by the Yankees bullpen since their 14.1 scoreless inning streak from 10/3/22-4/1/23 and the longest single-season scoreless streak since their 17.2 scoreless inning streak from 6/8-12/22.
Did not allow a hit to 41 consecutive batters faced (from the seventh inning on Tuesday to the seventh inning on Saturday).
GOT YOUR NUMBER: INF DJ LeMahieu has slashed .364/.462/.591 (8-for-22) with 2 doubles, 1HR and 4BB off Texas’ Martín Pérez…INF Gleyber Torres has batted .313/.389/.750 (5-for-16) with 1 double, 2HR and 2BB off Pérez…OF Aaron Hicks is hitting .364 (4-for-11) with 1 double off Pérez.
GETTING HIGGY WITH IT: C Kyle Higashioka has hit safely in five of his last six games and has reached base in eight of his 11 games this season.
KEPT OFF THE BOARD: Yankees batters were shutout for the first time this season on Saturday.
Texas’ Nathan Eovaldi threw a nine-inning shutout against the club, marking the first time a pitcher has thrown a nine-inning shutout against the Yankees since Houston’s Dallas Keuchel on 6/25/15…since that date, every other Major League team has had at least two such games over that span (next: Atlanta, Chicago-NL and Colorado – two).
LEMACHINE: Despite going hitless on Saturday, INF DJ LeMahieu is still batting .296 (8-for-27) with 1R, 1 double, 1HR, 4RBI and 1BB over his last eight games since 4/22.
Has reached base in 20-of-59 plate appearances (14H/4BB/2HP) over his last 15 games (since 4/11).
Is hitting .368/.409/.474 (7-for-19) with 2 doubles, 8RBI and 2BB with RISP this season.
JHONY B. GOODE: RHP Jhony Brito made his sixth start of the season on Saturday and recorded the loss despite allowing just 2ER over 5.0IP…not including his start on 4/13 vs. Minnesota in which he allowed a career-high 7R over 0.2IP, has a 2.86 ERA (22.0IP, 7ER) and 17K in his other five starts this season.
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER: LHP NESTOR CORTES (3-1, 3.49 ERA)
LHP Nestor Cortes will make his sixth start of the season in today’s series finale at Texas…the 28-year old will make the start on regular four days’ rest…made his last start on Tuesday at Minnesota, taking his first loss of the season after allowing 4R/3ER over 5.0IP (5H, 1BB, 6K, 1HR)…his 4R allowed snapped his 16-start streak of allowing 3R-or-fewer…was tied for the third-longest such streak by a Yankees starting pitcher in franchise history…has allowed 3ER-or-fewer in each of his last 17 starts (since 7/14/22), tied with Spud Chandler (17GS from 7/7/43-4/22/44) and Bob Shawkey (17GS from 6/15-9/18/1917) for the fourth-longest by a Yankees pitcher since 1913 (when ER became an official stat)…trails only Jim Bouton (24GS from 9/23/65-6/3/68), his own 19-start streak (8/15/21-6/2/22-G1) and Fritz Peterson (18GS from 7/16/70-G1-4/9/71)…according to Elias, his 2.44 ERA in 2022 was the third-lowest by a Yankees pitcher in a single season in the Divisional Era since 1969 (min. 25 games started), trailing only Ron Guidry’s 1.74 ERA in 1978 and Steve Jack Kline’s 2.40 ERA in 1972…was signed by the Yankees as a minor league free agent on 12/10/20…was originally selected by the Yankees in the 36th round of the 2013 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft…was selected by the Baltimore Orioles from the Yankees in the 2017 Rule 5 Draft and returned to the Yankees on 4/13/18…was acquired by the Seattle Mariners from the Yankees in exchange for international bonus pool money on 11/25/19…over parts of five Major League seasons, has played with Baltimore (2018), the Yankees (2019, ’21-22) and Seattle (2020).
LAST TIME OUT: Made his last start on Tuesday at Minnesota, taking his first loss of the season after allowing 4R/3ER over 5.0IP (5H, 1BB, 6K, 1HR)…his 4R allowed snapped his 16-start streak of allowing 3R-or-fewer…was tied for the third-longest such streak by a Yankees starting pitcher in franchise history…his loss snapped a career-high six-game winning streak.
ON A ROLL: Has allowed 3ER-or-fewer in each of his last 17 starts (since 7/14/22), tied with Spud Chandler (17GS from 7/7/43-4/22/44) and Bob Shawkey (17GS from 6/15-9/18/1917) for the fourth-longest by a Yankees pitcher since 1913 (when ER became an official stat)…trails only Jim Bouton (24GS from 9/23/65-6/3/68), his own 19-start streak (8/15/21-6/2/22-G1) and Fritz Peterson (18GS from 7/16/70-G1-4/9/71)…has gone 8-2 with a 2.48 ERA (98.0IP, 27ER) in that span…his 2.48 ERA is tied for the eighth-lowest among AL pitchers over that stretch (min 50.0IP)…has tossed at least 7.0IP in four of those starts and 6.0IP-or-more in nine of those starts.
Has allowed 2R-or-fewer in nine of his last 11 starts (since 8/21/22), going 6-1 with a 2.34 ERA (61.2IP, 16ER) and 63K over that stretch.
Has tossed at least 5.0IP with 2R-or-fewer allowed in seven of his last nine starts (since 9/14/22)…the Yankees are 7-2 in those starts.
NASTY NESTOR: Has allowed 3R-or-fewer in 42-of-47 starts since the beginning of 2021 and 2R-or-fewer in 35 of those starts…in 55 appearances (47 starts) since the beginning of 2021, has gone 17-8 with a 2.70 ERA (279.2IP, 84ER), 294K and a .203 (208-for-1,023) opponents’ BA…his 2.70 ERA in that span is the second-lowest in the AL and the fifth-lowest in the Majors (min. 200.0IP), trailing only Max Scherzer (2.46 ERA), Shohei Ohtani (2.62 ERA), Max Fried (2.62 ERA) and Carlos Rodón (2.67 ERA)…his 0.99 WHIP in that span is the lowest in the AL and fourth-lowest in the Majors…his .210 opponents’ BA in that span is the fifth-lowest in the AL and the 10th-lowest in the Majors over that span (min. 200.0IP).
Allowed 2R-or-fewer in nine consecutive starts from 8/21/22-4/14/23…matched the longest such streak by a Yankees starting pitcher in franchise history (excludes Chad Green’s 12-start streak as an opener from 6/11/17-8/12/19-G2)…in addition to Cortes’ other nine-start streak from 9/25/21-5/15/22, Luis Severino (9/12/18-4/20/22), Michael Pineda (4/5-9/5/14) and Art Ditmar (7/26-9/9/59) also recorded nine-start streaks…was 5-0 with a 1.78 ERA (50.2IP, 10ER) in that span.
Allowed 3R-or-fewer in 16 straight starts from 7/14/22-4/20/23, tied with Luis Severino (16GS from 4/16-7/7/18) for the third-longest such streak in franchise history…trailed only Russ Ford (20GS from 8/9/1910-G2-5/27/1911-G2) and his own 19-start streak (8/15/21-6/2/22-G1)…went gone 8-1 with a 2.32 ERA (93.0IP, 24ER) in that span…tossed at least 7.0IP in four of those starts and 6.0IP-or-more in nine of those starts.
Since the beginning of 2022, has gone 15-5 with a 2.60 ERA (186.2IP, 54ER) and 191K…among Major League pitchers in that span, ranks fourth opponents’ OBP (.248, second in AL), fifth in WHIP (0.94, second in AL), seventh in opponents’ BA (.196, sixth in AL), eighth in opponents’ OPS (.575, fourth in AL) and 10th in ERA (fifth in AL).
Over his last 42 starts since 8/15/21, has gone 17-7 with a 2.70 ERA (236.1IP, 71ER), 248K and a .202 (175-for-865) opponents’ BA…has allowed 3R-or-fewer in 38 of those 42 starts, including 2R-or-fewer in 31 of those starts…his 2.70 ERA over that span is the fifth-lowest in the AL and the 10th-lowest in the Majors (min. 200.0IP).
VS. TEXAS: Owns a 5.40 ERA (15.0IP, 9ER) in five career appearances (two starts) vs. the Rangers.
Made one start vs. Texas in 2022 (5/9 at Yankee Stadium), surrendering just 1H over 7.1 scoreless innings (4BB, 11K) without recording a decision…took a no-hitter into the eighth inning before allowing a single to Eli White.
In two career starts vs. the Rangers, has posted a 2.31 ERA (11.2IP, 3ER) with 18K and a .146 (6-for-41) opponents’ BA.
Has made two career appearances on the road vs. Texas (both in relief), posting a 13.50 ERA (1.1IP, 2ER)… today’s start will mark his first at Globe Life Field.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN: Will be making his third road start of the season…made his last road start on Tuesday at Minnesota, taking the loss after allowing 4R/3ER over 5.0IP (5H, 1BB, 6K, 1HR)…made his first start on the road on 4/9 at Baltimore, earning the win after allowing 2ER in 5.1IP (4H, 2BB, 5K).
In 13 road starts in 2022, went 6-3 with a 3.06 ERA (70.2IP, 24ER) and 74K…allowed 1BB-or-fewer in nine of his 13 road starts, including 0BB in six of those starts.
In 22 road starts since the beginning of 2021, is 8-6 with a 3.12 ERA (118.1IP, 41ER) and 123K…has allowed 3R-or-fewer in 17 of those 22 starts…has allowed 1ER-or-fewer in 11 of those starts…his 3.12 ERA ranks seventh-lowest among American League starters in that span (min. 20GS).
In 24 career road starts, has gone 8-7 with a 3.72 ERA (121.0IP, 50ER) and 126K.
LEFT OUT TO DRY: Left-handed batters are hitting .095/.136/.143 (2-for-21) against him this season.
Lefties hit just .110/.180/.159 (9-for-82) against him in 2022…among left-handed pitchers vs. left-handed batters (min. 65BF), owned the lowest OPS (.338), ranked second in opponents’ batting average (second in AL), OBP (first in AL) and third in opponents’ SLG (second in AL).
Has retired 19-of-22 left-handed batters faced this season (2H, 1BB, 5K). 2023: Is 3-1 with a 3.49 ERA (28.1IP, 25H, 12R/11ER, 5BB, 28K, 3HR, 3HP) in five starts this season.
Has allowed 3R-or-fewer in four of his five starts, including 2R-or-fewer in three of those starts.
Has recorded at least 7K while tossing 6.0IP-or-more in two of his starts this season.
Has gone 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA (18.0IP, 6ER) and 17K in three home starts compared to a 1-1 record with a 4.35 ERA (10.1IP, 5ER) in two road starts this season.
Has posted a .095/.136/.143 (2-for-21) slash line vs. left-handed batters compared to a .271/.323/.471 (23-for85) slash line vs. right-handed batters.
Has allowed 0HR in three of his five starts.
Is 2-0 with a 3.97 ERA (11.1IP, 5ER), 12K and a .200 (8-for-40) opponents’ BA in day starts compared to 1-1 with a 3.18 ERA (17.0IP, 6ER), 16K and a .258 (17-for-66) opponents’ BA in night starts.
TEXAS RANGERS NOTES:
WINS AND LOSSES: Texas beat the Yankees last night, 2-0, and have gone 2-1 on this 6-G, 7-day homestand vs. NYY (2-1 + today) and ARI (2 G)…TEX has won 2 straight after a season-long 4-G losing skid that was the club’s longest drought since a 0-7 span from 9/28-10/4/22…have dropped
5 of last 9 G, but are still 8-5 in last 13 G and 12-7 in last 19 G beg. 4/9…Rangers still have the 4th-best record in the A.L. at 16-11 (.593), trailing TB (23-5, .821) and BAL/TOR (both 18-9, .667)…club’s 16 wins are T4th-most in the A.L…have a 13-11 record last 24 G since club’s 3-0 start to the season.
• Team currently sits 5 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 last Sun. vs. OAK (14-7), which was the 1st time TEX had been 7-over since 7/13/19 (50-43)…the current 16-11 record is still the best 27-G start for the Rangers since 2013 (17-10)…TEX recorded its 15th win in 2022 on May 17.
• TEX has 16 wins entering the final game in April today…it is already Rangers’ highest win total by end of April since 2013 (17), and only higher figures reached were 18 (1998) and 17 (2013, 2012, 1989).
WITH A WIN TODAY, Texas could:
• Improve to 6-3-0 in series in 2023…TEX did not win a 6th series in 2022 until 5/26-29/22 at OAK.
• Move to 4-1-0 in home series and win a 3rd consecutive series at Globe Life Field for 1st time in facility history…last time to win 3 straight home series was 5-0-0 span, 5/3-6/6/19.
• Secure one of the 8 best 28-game starts in club history at 17-11, which would be club’s best mark at this point since 2013 (17-11).
• Win a series after dropping series opener for a 2nd time in ‘23 (also 4/21-23 vs. OAK) and take a 3-games-to-1 lead in season series vs. NYY.
STANDINGS: The Rangers have a 2.0-game division lead in the A.L. West on 2nd-place HOU…TEX has been alone in 1st place in 14 of the last 15 days (beg. 4/14), as club was T1st on Thursday…have had sole possession of 1st place in the West for 20 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 30 of the season’s first 31 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: 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.
AT HOME: The Rangers are 10-5 (.667) at home to begin the year, this after starts of 5-10 (in 2022) and 6-9 (in 2021) at GLF the past 2 years…the .643 home win pct. is 4th in A.L. and 5th-best in MLB (14-2, .875-TB; 9-2, .818-TOR; 9-4, .692-BAL/PIT; 10-5, .667-TEX)…Rangers have a 96-111 all-time record at Globe Life Field (2020-23), but are 16-12 last 28 G here (beg. 9/11/22).
• Texas has scored 92 runs in 15 games at Globe Life Field this season, as club ranks 3rd in MLB w/ 6.13 R/G at home (TB-6.38, LAA-6.15).
VS. NEW YORK-AL: TEX has a 2-1 edge in the season series entering today’s GLF finale…clubs play 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 have won 4 of last 5 vs. NYY, but are still 5-11 in last 16 G and 12-20 in last 32 G (beg. 9/9/17)…TEX has a 5-6 record in 11 G vs. NYY at GLF…NYY lead all-time, 280-210.
A CAREER NIGHT: Nathan Eovaldi pitched a complete-game 3-hit shutout last night vs. NYY (9.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 8 SO, 113 pitches/78 strikes), the first 9-inning CG SHO of his career…it produced a game score of 89, the highest of his career and best figure by a Ranger since a Derek Holland CG SHO on 8/30/15 vs. BAL (92 game score)…his 89 game score was also 3rd-highest in MLB this season (92 by NYY’s
Gerrit Cole on 4/16 vs. MIN; 91 by ATL’s Spencer Strider on 4/24 vs. MIA)…some additional notes on Eovaldi’s feat:
• It was the 1st CG SHO by a Ranger since Martín Pérez on 5/20/22 at HOU (9.0 SHO IP), and the 1st CG SHO ever thrown by a Texas pitcher at Globe Life Field…last Ranger w/ a CG SHO in Arlington was Mike Minor on 4/16/19 vs. LAA (9.0 SHO IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 7 SO) at the former Globe Life Park.
• A graduate of Alvin (Tex.) High School, Eovaldi is the 1st native Texan to throw a CG SHO for the Rangers since Roger Pavlik on 9/7/95 vs. CWS (9.0 SHO IP, 3 H, 4 BB, 5 SO).
• Last night was the 1st CG SHO by a Ranger vs. NYY since Derek Holland on 6/27/13 at Yankee Stadium (9.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 SO)…it was just the 4th CG SHO ever by a Ranger against the Yankees in Arlington (see chart).
• It was the 5th CG SHO in MLB in 2023 (2nd in A.L.), joining MIA’s Sandy Alcantara (4/4 vs. MIN), NYY’s Gerrit Cole (4/16 vs. MIN), SF’s Alex Cobb (4/24 vs. STL), and ATL’s Max Fried (4/28 at NYM).
CG SHO BY RANGERS VS. YANKEES IN ARLINGTON (4)
Date Pitcher IP H BB SO
7/18/1975 Gaylord Perry 9.0 4 2 4
4/19/1981 Jon Matlack 9.0 4 1 3
7/7/1995 Bob Tewksbury 9.0 6 0 5
4/29/2023 Nathan Eovaldi 9.0 3 0 8
WHO DO YOU NEED?: Ezequiel Duran’s 2-R HR in the 5th inning last night provided the game’s only runs…it was just the 2nd time since the start of 2021 that a single home run won a game for Texas…the other?: Adolis García on 6/4/22 vs. SEA, a 3-R HR in the 4th inning of a 3-2 win…it was also the 1st time that a Texas player’s HR provided the only runs in a shutout victory since 8/8/20 vs. LAA, when Joey Gallo hit a 2-R HR in the 6th inning of a 2-0 win…that 8/8/20 contest was the 7th game in Globe Life Field history.
• Duran has reached base safely via H/BB/HBP in a career-high 11 straight games (beg. 4/18)…he has batted .395/.439/.632/1.071 (15-38) with 2 HR, 3 2B, and 10 RBI over the course of the streak, raising his season BA from .150 to .310…the .310 BA would rank 9th in the A.L., but Duran is currently 23 PA’s short of qualifying status.
ROTATION REVERENCE: After Nathan Eovaldi’s performance last night, Texas starters now rank 4th in the A.L. and 7th in MLB with a 3.48 ERA for the season…the 3.48 figure is nearly a half-run lower than this point in 2022 (3.97)…since beginning the 2nd turn through the rotation on 4/5, Texas starters lead MLB with a 2.82 ERA.
• Martín Pérez ranks 10th in the A.L. with a team-best 2.60 ERA entering today’s start…he has yet to allow more than 3 runs in any of his 5 starts in 2023.
FULL HOUSE: Last night’s sellout crowd of 40,027 set a Globe Life Field facility record for baseball, and another sellout is expected today…the Rangers’ largest attendance for any series at GLF was October’s 4-G set vs. NYY (133,347)… this series has drawn 107,693 for the 1st 3 games.
SHORTS: Last night was Rangers’ 2nd team SHO of the season (also 4/17 at KC), 1st at GLF since 8/6/22 vs. CWS… all 5 TEX hits came from 7-8-9 slots last night, as top 6 in lineup were 0-for-18 w/ 3 BB…Rangers are one of 8 ML teams to have used only 5 starters to this point in the year, as TEX rotation has gone in order since the start of 2023…Monday’s off day is 3rd home off day for TEX in ‘23 (also 3/31, 4/20)… TEX enters this week’s 2-G set vs. ARI having won 2 straight and 3 of 4 vs. D-backs in last meetings in 2021.
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER – #54 Martín Pérez, LHP (3-1, 2.60)
TODAY: The 32-year-old left-hander is scheduled to make his 6th start of the season in Sunday’s series finale with the Yankees…ranks 9th in A.L. w/ 2.60 ERA, best among Rangers (2.67-deGrom)…is the only TEX pitcher with 5.0+ IP and 3-or-fewer ER allowed in each of his 1st 5 starts to open 2023…took ND despite leaving with a 6-0 lead in last start on Tues. at CIN (see below)…has 5.0+ IP in 35 consecutive starts dating to 2022, 4th-longest streak in Rangers history (see below)…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)…has a 58-58 record with a 4.23 ERA over 178 games/165 starts in his Rangers career, ranking among club’s all-time leaders in starts (7th, 165), wins (11th, 58), and strikeouts (12th, 655)…since 2016, his first full campaign after returning from ‘Tommy John’ surgery, has the 2nd-most starts (180) and 3rd-most innings pitched (1034.1)…saw two seasons cut short in 2014-15 following ‘Tommy John’ ligament reconstruction surgery on his left elbow on 5/19/14… also missed time in 2018 after suffering a broken right (non-throwing) elbow.
LAST START: Took ND in Rangers’ 7-6 last at-bat defeat on Tues. at CIN (6.1 IP, 6 H, 1 R-0 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO, 0 HR, 92 pitches/64 strikes), game in which he exited with a 6-0 lead before TEX bullpen allowed IR to score and 6 R-ER in 1.2 IP for a stunning loss…Pérez became the 1st starting pitcher in Rangers history to allow one-or-zero runs in a start of 6.1+ innings while receiving 6+ runs of support and not earn the victory. I GOT FIVE ON IT: Has logged at least 5.0 IP in each of his last 35 starts (beg. 4/23/22), the longest such streak ever by a Texas left-hander and 4th-longest in club history overall: 56-Yu Darvish (2012-14), 41-Lance Lynn (2019-20), 37-Nolan Ryan (1989-90), 35-Pérez (2022-23)…it is the longest active streak of 5.0+ IP…has gone 15-7, 2.71 ERA (65 ER/216.0 IP) during the streak.
VS. NEW YORK-AL: Is 2-5, 5.80 (35 ER/54.1 IP) in 14 G/11 GS in his career vs. NYY, taking loss in his only start last year, his final outing of ‘22 on 10/3/22 here at GLF (6.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R-ER, 5 BB, 2 SO, 0 HR, 77 pitches/44 strikes)…it was a 3-1 TEX loss, as Rangers’ lone run came in 8th inning after club was already trailing 3-0…Luis Severino had 7.0 no-hit innings for the Yankees that night.
2023: Owns a chase rate 34.2% on the season, which ranks in the 87th percentile in MLB (Savant)…has faced just 21 LH batters in his 5 starts (no RHB in last start on Tues. at CIN), with those hitters going 7-for-21 w/ one XBH, 1 BB, 5 SO…3 of 1st 5 GS were vs. N.L. opponents…earned win in season debut 4/2 vs. PHI, completing Rangers’ 3-G sweep, as he allowed just 3 batted balls with exit velo. of 95.0+ mph (Statcast)…has tossed at least 85 pitches in all 4 starts this season.
AT HOME: 4 of 5 starts this year have been on the road, as this will be 2nd home outing…Pérez earned win in season debut on 4/2 vs. PHI (5.2 IP, 1 R-ER), finishing series sweep of Phillies…owns a 6-5 record with a 2.78 ERA (32 ER/103.2 IP) in 18 career starts at Globe Life Field…has lasted at least five-or-more innings in his last 15-consecutive starts at home…at Globe Life Park, he went 27-20 with a 4.33 ERA (198 ER/411.2 IP) in 76 games (69 starts)…has not allowed a home run in his last 6 starts at home dating back to 8/14/22.
