TEXAS RANGERS NOTES:
WINS AND LOSSES: Texas lost their 2nd-consecutive game to the Reds last night (both games by a score of 6-7), and today close a brief 3 G series at Great American Ball Park… team is 0-2 in last 2 G with the lead after 7th inn…club owns a 2-3 record in games decided in the 7th inning-or-later…Rangers have now lost 2 of their last 5 G, but team’s .609 is still the 4th-highest win percentage in A.L. (TB-.833, BAL-.652, TOR- .625)…Rangers’ 14 wins are T4th-most in A.L…have allowed 7-or-more runs in 3 of last 4 G…have an 11-9 record last 20 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…the current 14-9 record ranks as T4th-best 23-G start in club history and is the best 23-G start since 2014 (also 14-8)…TEX recorded its 14th win in 2022 on May 15.
RANGERS’ BEST 23-G RECORDS
W-L Year
17-6 1989, 2012
16-7 1976, 1998, 2013
15-8 1996
14-8 1974, 1979, 1981, 2011, 2014, 2023
STANDINGS: The Rangers have maintained at least a 1.5 game lead in the division over the last 5 days, keeping sole possession of 1st place in the A.L. West for a 12th straight day and 17th day overall in 2023…own a 1.5-game division lead over HOU, the team’s largest lead this late into a season (April 21-or-later) since 10/2/16 (+9.0 GA), the last day of team’s division-winning campaign in 2016…TEX has been alone or tied atop the division for 26 of the season’s first 27 days, including 9 straight to begin the year…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: With last night’s loss, TEX dropped their 3rd series of the season and 2nd on the road (also 4/7-9 at CHC, 1-2)…it is their first series loss in their previous 5, this after Rangers had won 3 straight series for just 2nd time since the start of 2021 (also 3-0-0, 4/29-5/9/21 vs. BOS/at MIN/vs. SEA) before arriving to Cincinnati…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)…TEX is 5-3-0 overall in series this year, going 3-1 at home 2-2 on the road…team is hoping to avoid getting swept for the 1st time this season and for the 1st time since 9/30-10/2/22 at LAA.
HAVE SCHEDULE, WILL TRAVEL: The Rangers are now 2-2 in road series this campaign, and are looking to avoid a 5th road loss in 6 G this season..club is 6-5 (.546) on the road this season…have won 6 of last 8 away games after an 0-2 start…Rangers are scheduled to play 11 of their next 17 games on the road from today thru 5/14.
VS. CINCINNATI: Texas closes their lone series of the season against Cincinnati tonight after dropping the first 2 games (0-2 record)…TEX has gone 4-4 in Interleague games this season, including 1-4 on the road (4/7-9 at CHC, 4/24-25 at CIN)…TEX owns a losing record of 10-11 all-time vs. CIN, going 5-8 in Cincy, all games at GABP…TEX is 4-2-1 alltime in series vs. CIN, including 2-2-1 in 5 series at GABP… Rangers are 2-1-1 in last 4 series in Cincy…TEX has won 6 of 9 on the road.
FOREVER JUNG: Josh Jung went 1-for-4 with a 2-R 2B last night, and has now reached base safely in 12 of his last 13 G…all 3 of his hits this series against CIN have been XBH (2B, 2 HR)…during his recent stretch, he owns a .315 BA (17-for-54), 3 2B, 3 HR, 11 RBI, 4 BB, 1 SB…he currently leads A.L. rookies with 25 H, 15 R, 5 HR, 16 RBI, .281 BA and .494 SLG.
WE’LL TAKE ONE OR THE LOT: With 3-solo HR last night against Cincinnati (1 each by Lowe, Semien and J. Smith), TEX has now homered in 9-consecutive games, their longest streak of the season…previous streak of at leasy 9 HR in consecutive games was 10-straight from 8/21-9/2-22… club has 7 HR of 3-or-4 runs over its last 9 G, as TEX has at least one such HR in 6 of 9 contests during that span…12 of the Rangers’ 32 HR this season have gone for 3-or-4 runs, easily the most in MLB…6 different Rangers have accounted for those 12 HR: 3-Heim, 2- Garver/García/Grossman/Semien; 1-Jung…TEX is already just 8 HR shy of matching club’s 2022 total for HR of 3+ R (20).
‘EL BOMBI’ VIBES: Continuing his A.L. Player of the Week performance from 4-17/23, Adolis has been batting .379 (11- 29) last 7 G to rise from season-low .200 to .258…Monday’s announcement marked the 2nd time García has won the weekly award, as he also took the honors for April 19-25, 2021…with that award, he becomes just the second Texas rookie ever to earn the weekly honor, joining outfielder Oddibe McDowell for July 22-28, 1985…since the start of 2019, García is the only Texas player to win the weekly award multiple times…he is the first Texas player overall to win the honor since first baseman Nathaniel Lowe from August 22-28, 2022.
Here is his resumé from last week:
• García batted .400/.458/.1.100/1.558 (8-20) in his 5 games last week with 4 HR, 2 2B, 14 RBI, and 8 R…his 14 RBI led all MLB players for the week, and he led the A.L. with 4 HR, 6 XBH, and 22 total bases.
• García’s 8 R were T2nd-most in the A.L., trailing only teammate Marcus Semien.
• On Sat. vs. OAK, García went 5-for-5 with 3 HR, 2 2B, 8 RBI, 5 R, 16 total bases, 5 XBH, and a HBP…became just the 2nd player in MLB history to have 5 XBH and 8 RBI in a single contest, joining the Rangers’ Josh Hamilton in his 4-homer game on 5/8/12 at BAL.
• He is just the 3rd player in the modern era (since 1901) with at least 3 HR, 8 RBI, 5 R, and 16 total bases in one game, joining Brooklyn’s Gil Hodges on 8/31/50 and Washington’s Anthony Rendon on 4/30/17.
• García’s 5 XBH matched the MLB record, and he matched TEX club marks with 5 R and 6 times on base.
• García is batting .258 with an .845 OPS figure for the season, posting 7 HR, 28 RBI, and 20 R.
LEADING OFF WITH A BANG: After going 1-for-4 with a HR and RBI yesterday, Marcus Semien has gone .339/.435/.593/1.028 (20-59) w/ 4 HR, 3 2B, 19 RBI, 18 R, and 10 BB/10 SO last 15 G to raise season BA from .206 to .290, 16th in A.L.
• He leads MLB in R (22) and ranks T7th in RBI (22), as he was 1st Ranger ever to record 20+ RBI and 20+ R in the team’s first 20 G of a season.
• He is the first player in Washington/Texas franchise history with 20+ RBI and 20+ R in his first 20 G of a season.
• When leading off an inning, Semien owns a .286 BA (10- for-35) with 1 2B, 2 HR, 2 RBI, 7 BB and a .809 OPS.
THAT’S QUALITY!: After Martín Pérez’ 1st QS of the season last night, he joins all TEX starters in achieving at least 1 QS this season…Rangers starters are on a 4 G streak of tossing quality starts (also Eovaldi Mon. at CIN, deGrom on Sun. vs. OAK and Heaney on Sat. vs. OAK)…starters have lasted at least 5.1 IP in their last 7 starts and have not allowed more than 3 ER in any of those starts…Martín Pérez has lasted 5.0-or-more innings and giving up 3 ER-or-less in all 5 starts this year…deGrom leads the team with 3 QS, followed by Eovaldi with 2, and Gray/Heaney/Pérez each have 1 this campaign.
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER – #22 Jon Gray, RHP (1-1, 3.72)
TODAY: The 31-year-old right-hander is set to make his 5th appearance/start of the season in today’s series finale against the Reds in Cincinnati…enters today’s outing with 998 career strikeouts, and is seeking to become the 41st active MLB pitcher with 1,000+ career strikeouts…will work on regular 4 days’ rest for the 1st time in 2023 after pitching on 5 days’ rest in each of his first 4 outings…struggled to find the strike zone in last start on Fri. vs. OAK (see below), issuing a career high-tying 5 walks in a 5-4 Rangers defeat…5 of 9 runs allowed this season have come via HR (one 2-R HR, 3 solo HR)…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 2nd 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 1-3 in Gray’s 4 starts this season. 1,000 K’S: Gray enters today’s scheduled start with 998 career strikeouts, just 2 away from becoming the 41st active Major League pitcher with 1,000+ career strikeouts…he would join teammates Ian Kennedy (1,761), Jacob deGrom (1,650), Jake Odorizzi (1,172), and Nathan Eovaldi (1,091) as the 5th pitcher on the Rangers’ 40-man roster with 1,000+ career strikeouts…no other team in baseball currently has more than 3 pitchers with 1,000-or-more career strikeouts on its 40-man roster: 5-TEX, 3-BOS/KC/NYM/PHI/SD.
• Danny Duffy, who is on Triple-A Round Rock’s Injured List while rehabbing from a left elbow injury, ranks 35th among active ML hurlers with 1,048 career SO’s.
LAST START: Labored through 5.1 innings in Rangers’ 5-4 defeat on Fri. vs. OAK (ND, 5.1 IP, 6 H, 4 R-3 ER, 5 BB, 2 SO, 1 HR)…struggled with his command throughout the night, as he issued a career high-tying 5 walks (4x, last 7/14/19 at WAS w/ COL), hit a batter, and threw just 52 of 92 (56.5%) pitches for strikes… marked his lowest strike pct. in any outing (min. 80 pitches) since 6/30/21 vs. PIT w/ COL (54.7%, 95-52)…exited with 2 on and one out in the 6th inn., as Jonathan Hernández was brought on to protect a 4-3 lead…Gray was removed from the decision after Esteury Ruiz tied the game, 4-4, on a 2-out RBI single…Rangers would go on to lose after Will Smith surrendered a pinch-hit, go-ahead solo HR to Jordan Diaz…was Texas’ 1st game wearing its Nike City Connect uniforms.
VS. CINCINNATI / INTERLEAGUE: Gray has gone undefeated (4-0) with a 3.94 ERA (13 ER/29.2 IP) and 28 strikeouts/10 walks in 5 career games/starts vs. CIN, with his teams going 5-0 in those outings…last faced the Redlegs on 7/12/19 vs. CIN w/ COL (ND, 7.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R-ER, 0 BB, 6 SO, 1 HR), guiding the Rockies to a 3-2 win at Coors Field…today’s outing will be his 2nd career appearance at Great American Ball Park, with the other coming in a 6-3 Colorado victory on 6/6/18 at CIN w/ COL (W, 5.0 IP, 3 R-ER, 3 BB, 5 SO).
• Has gone 3-1 with a 3.34 ERA (11 ER/29.2 IP) in 6 G/GS vs. N.L. clubs in his 2 seasons with Texas (2022-23)…is 2-0, 1.76 (3 ER/15.1 IP) in last 3 Interleague starts dating to 2022, incl. last start vs. N.L. on 4/9/23 at CHC (5.2 IP, 2 R-ER).
ON THE ROAD: Today’s start in Cincinnati will be Gray’s 3rd on the road this season, as 2 of his first 4 starts in ‘23 came away from Arlington…has seen slightly more success in his 2 away outings (1-0, 3.52 ERA) this season than in his 2 starts at home (0-1, 3.86)…has made nearly twice as many road starts (18) as home starts (10) in 2 seasons with Texas (2022-23), T10th-most road starts in A.L. over that span…has gone 4-6, 4.21 ERA (43 ER/92.0 IP) in his road outings for TEX compared to 4-2, 3.46 ERA (21 ER/54.2 IP) at Globe Life Field, but is 4-3, 3.42 ERA (20 ER/52.2 IP) in his last 10 away starts dating to 6/17/22.
CINCINNATI REDS NOTES:
STREAKING
The Reds have won consecutive games for the second time this season…following a 5-4 loss to the Pirates on Opening Day, the Reds won a season-high 3 straight games (2-0 vs Pit, 1-0 vs Chc).
RED HOTS
• In last night’s 7-6 win the Reds overcame a 6-run deficit for the first time since a 7-6 win vs Ari on 7/19/12, also at Great American Ball Park (WP – Alfredo Simon, LP – Bryan Shaw, SV – Aroldis Chapman).
• In the last 13 games beginning 4/13 the Reds’ bullpen has posted 2.04 ERA (53ip, 42h, 12er, 17bb, 58k, .211baa), including an ERA of 1.59 in the last 9 games beginning 4/17 (34ip, 23h, 6er, 12bb, 38k, .187baa).
• The bullpen’s 2.04 ERA beginning 4/13 is the fifth-best in the Major Leagues (Hou 1.21, Bal 1.31, Det 1.44, Wsh 1.99).
• Reds relievers haven’t allowed a home run since the sixth inning on 4/18 vs TB (Taylor Walls, solo off Casey Legumina)…the active homerless streaks of 7 games and 23.2 innings are bullpen season highs…LHP Reiver Sanmartin was the last Reds reliever currently on the roster to allow a home run (4/16 vs Phi, solo by J.T. Realmuto).
• Reds batters haven’t homered in 8 games, their longest homerless streak since 1992, when Reds batters produced homerless streaks of 8 games (7/4-7/11) and 9 games (4/15-4/25)…the Reds last homered in the second inning on 4/17 vs TB (Kevin Newman off Jalen Beeks).
• This afternoon the Reds will complete a streak of 20 games on 20 consecutive days (6-13)…their last days off were rainouts on 4/5 vs Cubs
and on 4/6 in the Phillies’ home opener…are off tomorrow in San Francisco.
TODAY’S GAME
• Is Game 3 (2-0) of a brief 3-game homestand, all vs Will Nadal’s firstplace Rangers.
• The Reds won the only series sweep between the interleague rivals, from 6/15-5/17, 2004 here at Great American Ball Park.
• Following this afternoon’s game and tomorrow’s off day the Reds will face the Athletics (3g) and Padres (3g) in the first of their 3 trips to the West Coast.
SERIES NOTES
• The Redlegs are 11-10 all-time vs the Rangers, including 8-5 at Great American Ball Park and 2-0 this season.
• The Reds and Rangers are meeting for the eighth time overall and for the first time since 2019, also here at GABP.
• The Reds have played only 1 other interleague series this season, a 1-2 series loss vs the Rays last week at Great American Ball Park.
• Before the interleague scheduled expanded this season, from 1997-2022 the Redlegs went 188-247 vs the American League, at .432 the lowest interleague winning percentage of any Major League team…in 2022 the Reds went 12-8 vs AL teams (0-2 vs Cle, 2-0 at Cle, 1-2 at Tor, 1-1 at Bos, 3-0 vs TB, 2-1 at NYY, 2-1 vs Bal, 1-1 vs Bos)…last season’s was their first winning record vs the American League since 2013 (11-9)…in the 8 seasons between the 2013 & 2022 season series wins, the Reds went 61-99 vs AL teams (.381).
This Afternoon’s Pitcher – #51 Graham Ashcraft, RHP
• This afternoon is making his first career appearance vs the Rangers…never has faced any Rangers hitters.
• Is mourning the loss of his 82-year-old grandmother and Fort Worth resident, Ann Ashcraft, who died Monday…she rooted for the Rangers but became a Reds fan after Graham was drafted in June 2019…Ann kept score every game and was very familiar with the stats of her grandson’s teammates.
• In Fri’s 4-2 loss at Pit allowed both runs in the second inning (2-run double by Mark Mathias).
• In his first 3 starts (19ip, 3er) became the eighth Reds pitcher, since 1901 and including Nick Lodolo in 2023, to begin a season with at least 17.0 innings while allowing 4 earned runs or fewer.
• Became the first Reds pitcher to begin a non-COVID season with 3 consecutive quality starts since Amir Garrett in 2017 (3qs).
• Started the third game of the season and on 4/2 earned the 3-1 win vs the Pirates…following 2 rainouts, didn’t pitch again until 4/10 at Atl.
• In his last start of spring training, on 3/22 vs SD, allowed 1 hit while recording 10 strikeouts without a walk in 6.0 innings…time of game was 1:52.
• In 2022, in his Major League debut ranked among the National League rookie pitching leaders in starts (T3rd, 19gs), innings pitched (4th, 105.0), ERA (7th, 4.89), strikeouts (11th, 71), opponents’ BA (8th, .281) and WHIP (1.42, 8th).
• From 8/23-9/23 missed 32 days and 31 games while on the 15-day injured list with right biceps soreness.
• In 16 starts prior to the injury went 5-3, 3.97…in his last 5 starts prior to his injury went 1-1, 2.67 (33.2ip, 32h, 10er, 8bb, 24k, 3hr, .252baa), lowering his ERA from a season-high 4.70 to 3.97.
• After 2 rehab apps for Chattanooga and Louisville (5.2ip, 15h, 10r, 5er, 1bb, 11k, 123 pitches), finished the season 0-3, 12.00 in his last 3 starts for the Reds.
• Hunter Greene threw 7.0 scoreless innings (0bb, 8k) in the 7-0 win on 6/6 vs Ari and Ashcraft followed with 6.0 scoreless innings (0bb, 4k) in the 14-8 victory on 6/7 vs Ari…for the first time since 1900, Major League rookie starting pitchers in consecutive games threw at least 6.0 shutout innings without a walk.
• In 2021 was an MiLB.com Organization All-Star, MLB.com’s Reds Pitching Prospect of the Year, the Reds’ Minor League Pitcher of the Month for June and a 3-time league Pitcher of the Week.
• His fastball, slider and curveball all have been rated by Baseball America the best among Reds minor league pitchers.
• Was selected by the Reds in the sixth round of the June 2019 draft…was signed by Jonathan Reynolds.
