SEATTLE MARINERS NOTES:
TONIGHT’S TILT…the Mariners begin an 11-day, 8-game road trip with the first of 3 games against the Texas Rangers…they will also visit San Diego (2 G, June 6-7) and Los Angeles-AL (3 G, June 9-11) on the trip…Seattle is coming off a 10-game homestand (7-3) against Oakland (4-0), Pittsburgh (2-1) and New York-AL (1-2)…tonight’s game will be televised live on ROOT SPORTS with Dave Sims and Aaron Goldsmith on the call…the game will also be broadcast live on Seattle Sports (710 AM) and Mariners.com with Rick Rizzs and Gary Hill Jr.
ODDS AND ENDS…the Mariners defeated the Yankees by a 1-0 score in 10 innings on Wednesday… Seattle finished its 10-game homestand with a 7-3 record…Seattle is 21-10 when scoring at least 4 runs and 8-17 when scoring 3-or-fewer…the Mariners are 17-15 at T-Mobile Park and 12-12 on the road this season.
- Roster Moves – OF Taylor Trammell (truh-mell) was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma (post-game 5/31)… INF Mike Ford was selected by Seattle today, bringing the Major League, 40-man roster to 40 players.
- I’ve Got The Month of May – The Mariners finished May with a 17-11 (.607) record.
BEST IN THE WORLD AT WHAT THEY DO…the Mariners pitching staff leads the Majors in several categories this season, including FanGraphs Wins Above Replacement (10.2), WHIP (1.17), strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.59), walks-per-9 innings (2.51), home runs-per-9 innings (0.84) and Fielding Independent Pitching (3.42)…Seattle pitchers have also allowed the fewest walks (141) and home runs (47)…Seattle pitchers lead the Majors in opponent on-base percentage (.291), slugging percentage (.359) and OPS (.650)…Mariners starting pitchers rank 2nd in the Majors in fWAR (6.9), trailing only Minnesota (7.1)… Mariners relief pitchers rank 2nd in the Majors in fWAR (3.3), trailing only Baltimore (3.4).
J.P. THE CATALYST…J.P. Crawford has gotten on base at a .355 clip this season, leading the team with 29 walks…in 54 games this season, the Mariners shortstop is batting .251 (47×187) with 30 runs, 11 doubles, 3 home runs, 22 RBI and 29 walks, slugging .358 with a .713 OPS…Crawford comes into play tonight with a 6-game hitting streak (5/26-c), batting .296 (8×27) with a double, home run, 2 RBI and a walk during that span.
JARRED KELENIC: ALL-STAR OUTFIELDER?…Jarred Kelenic is batting .277 (54×195) with 27 runs, 14 doubles, 1 triple, 10 home runs, 26 RBI, 7 stolen bases and 16 walks, getting on base at a .333 clip, slugging .513 with an .846 OPS in 53 games this season…Kelenic has mashed left-handed pitchers this season, batting .320 (16×50) with 3 doubles, 1 triple, 4 home runs and 12 RBI with a 1.006 OPS in 52 plate appearances against southpaws…overall, Kelenic leads the Mariners in total bases (100), extra-base hits (25), batting average, slugging percentage and OPS…Jarred’s 135 OPS+ ranks 6th among qualified AL outfielders, trailing Aaron Judge-NYY (195), Randy Arozarena-TB (160), Mike Trout-LAA (140), Masataka Yoshida-BOS (138) and Austin Hays-BAL (137).
GETTING DEFENSIVE…the Mariners defense is tied for 2nd-best in the American League by Outs Above Average (9) this season with Kansas City, trailing only Detroit (10)…Seattle’s .989 team fielding percentage is tied for 2nd-best in the American League with Houston, trailing only Tampa Bay (.990).
KING GEORGE…George Kirby twirled 8.0 scoreless innings in the Mariners 1-0 win over the Yankees on Wednesday…the right-hander allowed just 3 hits with no walks and 7 strikeouts, becoming the first New York-born pitcher to toss 6.0+ scoreless innings in his first-ever appearance against the Yankees since Hall of Famer Waite Hoyt did it for the Boston Red Sox on Sept. 8, 1919 in Game 2 of a doubleheader… Kirby has been stellar over his last 26 starts dating back to last season, going 11-6 with a 2.98 ERA (49 ER, 148.0 IP) with 21 walks and 142 strikeouts…since July 1, 2022, Kirby leads the American League (min. 120 IP) in fWAR (4.8), FIP (2.51), walks-per-9 innings (1.28) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (6.76).
AT THE TOPA, TOPACABANA…Justin Topa tossed a scoreless 10th inning in Seattle’s last game on Wednesday vs. New York-AL, recording his first career big league win…he became the first New York-born pitcher to earn his first career Major League win against the Yankees since Don Cooper for the Minnesota Twins on Sept. 2, 1981…in 24 appearances with Seattle this season, Topa has a 3.32 ERA (8 ER, 21.2 IP) with 8 walks and 22 strikeouts.
AS YOU MAY KNOW…Julio Rodríguez went 2-for-4 with a stolen base in Wednesday’s 1-0 win over the Yankees…it was Julio’s 10th stolen base of the season, but…DID YOU KNOW?…that Julio is one of 4 Major Leaguers with 10+ home runs and 10+ stolen bases this season?…the 22-year-old outfielder is joined by Ronald Acuña Jr.-ATL, Josh Lowe-TB and Bobby Witt Jr.-KC, and…DID YOU ALSO KNOW?… that Julio is tied as the 2nd-fastest Mariners player (54 games) to reach 10/10 in a season?…only Ruppert Jones (1979) has reached 10+ home runs and 10+ stolen bases faster (52 G) in a season…Julio tied Alex Rodriguez (1998) as 2nd-fastest in franchise history…in 1998, A-Rod became the 3rd player in MLB history to join the 40/40 club, finishing the season with 42 home runs and 46 stolen bases.
MARINERS STARTER – RHP LUIS CASTILLO
2023 MLB Breakdown:
W-L ERA G/GS IP H R ER BB SO HR
Overall 4-2 2.69 11/11 63.2 48 21 19 15 76 6
Home 4-1 1.89 8/8 47.2 30 10 10 9 61 2
Road 0-1 5.06 3/3 16.0 18 11 9 6 15 4
vs. TEX 0-1 5.40 1/1 5.0 8 3 3 0 9 1
ABOUT CASTILLO…
- The 30-year-old right-hander is set to make his 12th start of the season, 2nd against the Rangers…he is also making his 160th Major League start and 2nd career start against Texas.
- Has been named an All-Star in 2019 and 2022.
- Originally signed as an international free agent by the San Francisco Giants on 12/23/11.
- Made MLB debut on 6/23/17 vs. Washington (w/ Cincinnati)
- Signed a 5-year contract extension with the Seattle Mariners on Sept. 24, 2022 after being acquired in a trade with Cincinnati on July 30, 2022.
LAST TIME OUT…W#4 in last start on 5/27 vs. Pittsburgh…allowed just 1 hit and 2 walks in 6.0 innings pitched while striking out 10.
SEASON-HIGH PUNCHIES…recorded a seasoh-high 10 strikeouts in his last start against the Pittsburgh Pirates…he was only 3 strikouts away from matching his career-high…this marked the 16th time in Castillo’s career that he has recorded 10+ strikeouts in a game (last: 8/27/22 vs. CLE).
1,000 AND COUNTING…recorded his 1,000th career strikeout in his outing on 5/22 against Oakland after striking out Shea Langeliers to begin the 5th inning…Castillo finished the night with 8 strikeouts, 1 away from his season high.
STILL ROLLING…has only allowed 15 walks while striking out 76 batters in 11 starts this season…his 15 walks are tied for the 11th fewest in the Major Leagues with 3 other pitchers…his 76 strikeouts on the season ranks tied 11th in the Major Leagues with 4 other pitchers…Castillo’s 5.07 strikeout-to-walk ratio ranks tied 11th in the Major Leagues with Zack Wheeler-PHI.
OFF TO A GOOD START…his 135 strikeouts through his first 20 Mariners starts are the 2nd most in Mariners history through a pitchers first 20 starts…he trails only Robbie Ray (136) and ranks ahead of Félix Hernández (124) and Michael Pineda (123).
MAKING THEM EARN IT…has only allowed 19 earned runs through 11 starts this season which is tied 5th in the Major Leagues…his 2.69 ERA (19 ER, 63.2 IP) ranks 9th in the Major Leagues behind Justin Steele-CHC (2.65).
KEEPING THE BASES CLEAN…has only allowed 66 runners to reach base safely through 11 starts this season which is tied for the 3rd fewest in the Major Leagues with Drew Smyly-CHC…he also ranks among Major League leaders in opponents average (T-5th, .203/48×237) and WHIP (T-5th, 0.990).
DOMINATE THE ZONE…had 38 strikeouts in 6 starts in March/April which is the second most strikeouts to start a season in his career…his career-high in strikeouts for March/April is 50 which he achieved in 7 games to start the 2019 season.
KEEPING THEM IN THE YARD…gave up his first home run of the season on 4/28, breaking a 5-game span of allowing no home runs…this was his longest span of games to start a season without giving up a home run in his career.
NEARLY PERFECT…carried a perfect game into the 7th inning in his start against Colorado on 4/16…earned his second win of the season after pitching 7.0 scoreless innings and allowing only 2 hits while striking out a season-high 9 batters…the last pitcher to throw a perfect game in the Majors was Félix Hernández on 8/15/12.
HOT START…did not allow a run in either of his first 2 starts to begin the season, becoming just the third Mariners pitcher to do that, joining Félix Hernández (2007) and James Paxton (2017).
PREVIOUSLY ON OPENING DAY…became just the 3rd Mariners starter to hold the opponent scoreless in an Opening Day start, joining Félix Hernández (2007, 2013 & 2018) and Randy Johnson (1995)…he is the first player in franchise history to toss 6.0+ scoreless innings while allowing 1-or-fewer hits on Opening Day…his game score of 76 was the highest of any Opening Day starter this season.
FOR OPENERS…made his 3rd career Opening Day start on 4/30 vs. CLE and his first with the Mariners, becoming the 18th different pitcher to start on Opening Day in franchise history.
THE STONE WAS ROLLING…began his start on 9/7/22 vs. Chicago-AL by striking out the first 7 batters he faced, setting a franchise record for most strikeouts to begin a start, passing Michael Pineda (5 on 7/9/11 at LAA)…the 7 strikeouts also tied the AL record for most strikeouts to begin a game (done 4x, last: Blake Snell-TB, 6/3/18 vs. SEA).
A PERFORMANCE FOR THE AGES…ND on 8/9/22 against New York-AL in his home debut after being acquired by the Mariners on 7/30/22…tossed 8.0
scoreless innings allowing just 3 hits and 2 walks while striking out 7 on 110 pitches, 72 for strikes…marked the 5th time in his career he has thrown 8.0+ innings, and just the 2nd time he has tossed 8.0+ scoreless innings (also: 9/21/18 at MIA)…induced 20 swings-and-misses, the third most he has induced in a game this season.
MAIDEN VOYAGE…struck out 8 in his first start with the Mariners on 8/3/22 at New York-AL…8 strikeouts are tied for the 3rd-most in a Mariners debut (also: Cliff Lee), trailing Andy Benes and Enrique Romo who struck out 9…Benes and Castillo both made their Mariners debuts on Aug. 3, after being acquired by the Mariners at the trade deadline.
NOW THAT’S QUALITY…recorded 8-consecutive quality starts from 6/28-8/15/22, a career-best streak (previous: 5, 2x (8/14-9/5/21 and 6/15-7/6/21 w/ CIN)…tossed a quality start in each of his first 3 starts with Seattle (8/3-8/15/22).
LA PIEDRA…tossed 7.0 innings and allowed 1 run in 3-consecutive starts from 7/3-7/14/22, striking out 22 batters over the 3 starts…3-consecutive starts of 7.0+ innings while allowing no more than 1 run was tied for the longest streak in the Majors with 7 other pitchers…marked the 1st time in his career he has tossed 7.0+ innings in 3-consecutive starts.
TEXAS RANGERS NOTES:
WINS AND LOSSES: Texas lost its last game on Wed. at DET, 3-2, finishing with a 6-3 record on the 9-G, 10-day road trip to PIT (2-1), BAL (2-1) and DET (2-1)…team has won 2 of 3, 6 of 8, 9 of 12, 14 of 20, and 17 of last 24 games…TEX is an MLB-best 21-9 (.700) in last 30 G beg. 4/28…TEX is 27-14 in last 41 G and 31-16 in last 47 G beg. 4/9.
- At 35-20 (.636), TEX owns the 2nd-best record in MLB to only TB (40-18, see chart below)…club’s 35 wins rank T2nd in A.L. and MLB (40-TB, 35-TEX/BAL).
- The 35-20 start the Rangers’ best 55-G start to a season in WSH/TEX franchise history.
- TEX is 15 G above .500 entering the homestand…team reached season-high 16 G above .500 with win on Tues. at DET (35-19), just the 11th season in Rangers history to reach that mark (1st since 2016) and the earliest date (5/30) team ever climbed to 16-over in a campaign (prev. 6/10 in 1996).
BEST RECORDS IN MLB, 2023
Win Pct. Team W-L
.690 Tampa Bay 40-18
.636 Texas 35-20
.625 Baltimore 35-21
MAY FLOWERS: TEX went 18-9 (.667) in May, highest win pct. in MLB last month…it marked Rangers’ highest win pct. in any month since a 20-8 (.714) finish in June 2016…it ranks as T4th-best win pct. in May in club history, best since a 20-9 (.690) mark in May 2009…the 18 wins last month were T2nd in MLB (19-NYY, 18-TEX/LAD) and match Rangers’ most in any month since the start of 2017 (18-11 in June 2019).
SERIES STUFF: Texas has won 4 consecutive series for the 2nd time this season (also 4/10-23)…last time that TEX won 5 series in a row? 6/15-7/1/18 vs. COL/at KC/at MIN/vs. SD/ vs. CWS…club has gone 9-1-1 in last 11 series and 12-2-1 in last 15…team is 13-4-1 overall in series this year, going 5-2-1 at home and 8-2-0 on the road…TEX is 4-1-1 in last 6 series at GLF…team has won 6 straight road series for the 1st time in franchise history, and has won 8 of last 9 away series… club did not win a 13th series in 2022 until 8/12-14 at SEA.
AT HOME: Rangers are 16-8 (.667) at home, 2nd-best home record in A.L. and 3rd in MLB (TB-.813, 26-6; LAD-.704, 19- 8)…has won 3 straight, 4 of 5, 8 of 11, 13 of last 19 at GLF beg. 4/5…TEX has a 102-114 all-time record at Globe Life Field (2020-23), but are 22-15 last 37 G here (beg. 9/11/22)… TEX leads MLB in R/G (6.79) and HR/G (1.71) at home in 2023, and 163 R are 3rd-most in MLB (190-TB, 176-BOS).
VS. SEATTLE: TEX took 2 of 3 G from 5/8-10 at SEA in only other series in ’23, ending span in which Rangers had lost 9 straight series at T-Mobile (last win: 2-1 from 5/27-29/19 at SEA)…TEX has won 5 of last 8 G dating to ‘22, but still 5-12 in last 17 G vs. SEA…after this weekend’s series, clubs will not meet again until Rangers’ final home games 9/22-24 and the last contests of the year 9/29-10/1 in Seattle…TEX lost season series in 2022 (5-14) 5th time in 6 years…TEX is just 13-35 vs. SEA beginning 8/21/20.
ROSTER MOVES: Earlier today, C Mitch Garver was activated from the IL and OF Bubba Thompson was optioned to Round Rock (AAA)…please see the separate release for more details.
ELITE OFFENSE: TEX leads MLB w/ 346 R, 6.29 R/G, and .272 BA…club has 10+ R in an MLB-leading 14 G (14-TEX, 8-CHC/TB) and has scored 5+ R in an inning 15 times this season.
- The 346 runs scored by TEX in ’23 are the most over the first 55 G of a season in franchise history, and is T24th-most in the modern era.
- TEX’s +131 run differential ranks 1st in MLB, 2nd-best figure at the 55-G mark by any club in the last 47 years beg. 1977 (2016 Cubs were +141 after 55 G).
- Current A.L. ranks: OBP (2nd, .340), OPS (2nd, .790), H (3rd, 522), 2B (T3rd, 112), SLG (4th, .450), TB (4th, 863), XBH (5th, 191)…own MLB-best .333 BA (170-510) w/ RISP.
SEMIEN STREAK: Marcus Semien enters the homestand riding a career-best 20-G hit streak, tied for the longest in MLB in 2023 (also HOU’s Mauricio Dubon, 4/2-26; LAD’s Freddie Freeman, 5/10-current)…it is just the 17th hit streak of 20+ games in Rangers history, 2nd in the last 13 years beg. 2011 (23-G hit streak by Adolis García 8/3-27/22)…totals during streak: .310/.347/.529/.846 (27-87), 3 HR, 2 3B, 6 2B, 16 RBI, 5 BB/12 SO and 19 R.
- Semien has a 28-G on-base streak, as he had hits in 26 of 27 G in May at .322/.385/.513/.898.
- MLB ranks for Semien among 2B in ’23: R (1st, 48), TB (1st, 110), RBI (1st, 44), 2B (1st, 14), H (2nd, 67), OPS (2nd, .850), BA (2nd, .295)….472 BA (25-53) w/ RISP, 3rd in MLB.
YES TO JUNG: Josh Jung’s career-best 14-G hit streak is the 2nd-longest active streak in the A.L. to only Semien (20 G)…has hits in 18 of his last 19 G at .382/.427/.632/1.058 (29-76) with 4 HR, 5 2B, 1 3B, and 12 RBI…it is T4th-longest hit streak by a rookie in TEX history…club record is 16 G by Elvis Andrus, 8/28-9/14/09…Jung ranks among A.L. leaders in TB (T4th, 110), R (T4th, 40), SLG (5th, .531), and H (T5th, 61).
HAVE A MONTH: Nathan Eovaldi was announced as Rangers May Player of the Month yesterday after going 4-0, 0.96 (4 ER/37.2 IP) over 5 G/GS for Texas last month, allowing one-or-zero runs in 4 of his 5 outings…his A.L.-leading 0.96 ERA ranked 2nd-best in MLB (min. 25.0 IP), and it was just the 7th time in TEX history that a pitcher has recorded an ERA below 1.00 in a full month (min. 30.0 IP)…just 2nd month in TEX history for a pitcher to have a sub-1.00 ERA with a WHIP of 0.85-or-lower (min. 30.0 IP), joining Charlie Hough in September 1983.
GOING GRAY: Jon Gray enters tonight’s start having won a career-high 4 consecutive starts for the 1st time…Gray is the 1st Ranger to win 4 consecutive starts since Taylor Hearn (4-0 from 8/24-9/12/21), with last longer instance being 5 straight by Lance Lynn from 6/17-7/11/19…Rangers went 5-0 in his 5 May starts, with Gray going 4-0, 1.95 (7 ER/32.1 IP) over 5 GS in May, 2nd-lowest monthly ERA of his career (min. 4 GS) to only a 1.89 figure over 5 G/GS in July 2016.
SEAGER IS SEA-WORTHY: With 2 hits on Wed. at DET, Corey Seager is batting .291/.305/.582/.887 (16-55) with 4 HR, 4 2B, and 19 RBI over 13 G since his return from the IL on 5/17…his 19 RBI since 5/13 lead the A.L., 2nd-most in MLB (20-LAD’s J.D. Martinez).
SHORTS: Texas has 11+ R in 2 straight and 7 of 24 home games in 2023, and has 5+ R in 5 straight and 8 of last 9 at GLF…Nathaniel Lowe has multiple hits and at least one RBI in 2 straight, and he ranks among A.L. leaders in 2B (T3rd, 16), R (T4th, 40), H (T5th, 61)…Texas has gone 11-5 (.688) against A.L. West foes in ’23, which would be the 3rd-best division win pct. in club history (.702-2011, .697-2013).
TONIGHT’S STARTING PITCHER – #22 Jon Gray, RHP
(5-1, 2.81)
TONIGHT: The 31-year-old right-hander is set to make his 11th start and appearance of the season in tonight’s homestand opener vs. Seattle…Gray over his last 4 starts: 4-0, 1.00 ERA (3 ER/27.0 IP), 5 BB/27 SO, .170 opp. BA to drop season ERA from season-high 4.40 to season-low 2.81, 9th in the A.L…his .220 opp. BA ranks 14th in the A.L…will pitch on extra 6 days’ rest after earning win last Fri. at BAL (see below)…produced 17.0 consecutive scoreless innings from 5/8-20, longest span of his career and 2nd-longest by a Ranger in ‘23 (Eovaldi-29.2 SHO IP)…has logged at least 5.0 innings in 9 of 10 starts, as 57.2 IP are 3rd-most on club (74.1-Eovaldi, 61.0-Pérez)…7 of Gray’s 8 HR allowed in ‘23 have been solo shots…this is Gray’s 2nd season with Texas after signing a 4-year free agent contract with the club on 12/1/21…was hindered by several injuries last season, but still managed to post a 7-7 record, 3.96 ERA (56 ER/127.1 IP), and 134 strikeouts over 24 starts…prior to joining the Rangers, the right-hander had spent his entire pro career with Colorado, ranking 3rd in Rockies history with 849 strikeouts while
also placing among the all-time team leaders with 151 starts, 829.1 innings, and 53 wins from 2015-21…was the 3rd overall selection by Colorado in the 2013 MLB Draft after pitching 2 seasons at the U. of Oklahoma…is a native of the Oklahoma City area, growing up in nearby Chandler…Texas is 6-4 in Gray’s 10 starts in 2023.
SCORELESS STREAK / RECENT RUN: Gray enters tonight having won a career-high 4 consecutive starts for the 1st time…Gray is the 1st Ranger to win 4 consecutive starts since Taylor Hearn (4-0 from 8/24-9/12/21), with the last longer instance being 5 straight winning starts by Lance Lynn from 6/17-7/11/19…has QS in 3 of last 4 outings…Rangers went 5-0 in his 5 May starts, with Gray going 4-0, 1.95 (7 ER/32.1 IP) over 5 GS in May, 2nd-lowest monthly ERA of his career (min. 4 GS) to only a 1.89 figure over 5 G/GS in July 2016…finished last month ranking among A.L. leaders (min. 25.0 IP) in wins (T1st, 4), ERA (T2nd, 1.95), and opp. BA (12th, .205)…produced a career-best scoreless streak of 17.0 SHO IP from 5/8 (2nd inn.)-5/20 (3rd inn.), the 7th-longest scoreless span in the A.L. this season and 2nd-longest by a Ranger (29.2 IP by Eovaldi, 4/24-5/27).
LAST START: Will be starting a Friday series opener for a 2nd straight start, as he earned win in Rangers’ 12-2 victory on Fri. at BAL (W, 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R-ER, 1 BB, 8 SO, 1 HR, 92 pitches/61 strikes)…matched season high w/ 8 K’s…gave up solo HR to 2nd batter faced (Adley Rutschman solo HR in 1st inn), but faced 3-or-4 batters in every inning, never allowing more than one baserunner in any frame…Rangers scored twice in the 2nd and 8 times in the 4th as position player Ryan McKenna pitched the 9th for the O’s.
VS. SEATTLE: Has gone 2-2, 4.67 (18 ER/34.2 IP) in 6 G/GS vs. SEA in his career, earning win in his lone start this season on 5/8/23 at SEA (7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R-ER)…in that game, similar to his last start at BAL, permitted a solo HR to 2nd batter of the game (Ty France) before scattering 3 hits the rest of the way…each of his 4 starts vs. M’s with the Rangers have come in Seattle, as this will be his 1st meeting vs. M’s at Globe Life Field.
AT HOME / GLF: Gray is 1-1, 4.09 (10 ER/22.0 IP) in 4 home starts in ‘23, earning lone win in last home start on 5/20 vs. COL (5.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R-ER)…has just 12 total home starts in his Rangers career spanning 2022-23: 5-2, 3.60 (26 ER/65.0 IP), and he has yet to make consecutive starts in Arlington in 2023…in 2022, made twice as many starts on the road (16) than at Globe Life Field (8)…started the 2nd ever game at this facility on on 7/25/20 at TEX w/ COL (4.2 IP, 1 R-ER), a 3-2 Rockies win…retired first 8 BF prior to Mathis’ 2-out triple in the 3rd inning…
has seen far more success in 6 starts on the road (4-0, 2.02 ERA). 1,000 K’S: Gray recorded a pair of strikeouts 4/26 at CIN to reach 1,000 career strikeouts and become one of 46 active Major League pitchers with 1,000+ career strikeouts…he joined fellow Ranger teammates Jacob deGrom (1,652), Jake Odorizzi (1,172), and Nathan Eovaldi (1,130) as one of 4 pitchers on the Rangers’ 40-man roster with 1,000+ career strikeouts.
- Danny Duffy, who is on Triple-A Round Rock’s Injured List while rehabbing from a left elbow injury, ranks 40th among active ML hurlers with 1,046 career SO’s.
2023: Has allowed 3-or-fewer runs in 8 of his 10 starts…has 8 BB/31 SO last 6 starts after 11 BB/15 SO in 1st 4 starts…opponents are batting .220/.293/.366/.659 (45-205)…12 of 19 BB have been issued to LHB (7 BB/23 SO vs. RHB)…opp. BA by time thru the lineup: 1st (.217, 18-83), 2nd (.254, 18-71), 3rd (.180, 9-50), 4th (0-1)…Jonah Heim caught 1st 6 starts, Sandy León caught last 4 starts…made early exit in start on 4/15 at HOU (ND, 2.0 IP, 1 R-ER) after he took a liner off his right forearm during Yainer Diaz at-bat to lead off 3rd inning…was removed from the game after attempting warm-up throws…X-rays were negative and was diagnosed with a right forearm bruise…earned 1st win on 4/9 at CHC (5.2 IP, 2 R-ER), when Will Smith stranded bases loaded in the 6th inning…began start 5/13 at OAK w/ 6.2 hitless innings before a Jace Peterson 2-out single to RF in the 7th…
TONIGHT’S STARTING PITCHER
it was the longest no-hit bid by a TEX starter since 4/15/18 at HOU, when Bartolo Colon retired the first 21 Astros…Gray surpassed 1000.0 career innings during the start (on 2nd out in 6th inn.)…in starts on last road trip 5/8 at SEA (73 game score) and 5/13 at OAK (79 game score), produced 2 of the 5 highest games scores of his Rangers career…in win on 5/20 vs. COL, escaped a 27-pitch 1st inning in which the Rox loaded the bases with no outs and did not score…marked Gray’s 1st career meeting against the team that drafted him and served as his home for 1st 7 MLB seasons.