TEXAS RANGERS NOTES:

WINS AND LOSSES: Texas beat the Angels yesterday, 16- 8, and have a 2-1 record to open this 10-G, 10-day road trip to LAA (2-1), SEA (3 G), and OAK (4 G)…TEX has won 2 straight, but is 2-2 since a 4-G win streak (4/28-5/2) that matched Rangers’ longest in ‘23 (also 4-0, 4/16-19)…team is 6-2 in last 8 G since a season-long 4-G losing skid…TEX is 6-6 in last 12 G, but still 12-7 in last 19 G and 16-9 in last 25 G beg. 4/9…have a 17-13 record last 30 G since club’s 3-0 start to the season.

• At 20-13 (.606), TEX owns 3rd-best record in A.L. to only TB (.800, 28-7) and BAL (.647, 22-12), and club’s 20 wins rank 5th in A.L. (28-TB, 22-BAL, 21-BOS/TOR, 20-TEX)… the .606 win pct. is 4th in MLB and 20 wins rank T7th in MLB.

• The 20-13 start marks Rangers’ best 33-G start to a season since 2013 (20-13), one of the 8 best starts in Texas history.

• TEX is 7 G above .500, matching high point in ‘23 (also 14-7 thru 4/23, 18-11 thru 5/2)…Texas has been .500-or-better following every game in 2023…prior to ‘23, team had not been at least 7-over since 7/13/19 (50-43) and club is seeking to reach 8-over for 1st time since 7/12/19 (50-42)…TEX recorded its 20th win in 2022 on May 26.

STANDINGS: The Rangers enter today with a 2.0-G lead on 2nd-place LAA in the A.L. West, largest lead since Tuesday (+2.5 GA)…TEX was in a tie for 1st after loss on Friday for 1st time since 4/27…TEX has been alone or tied atop the division for 37 of the season’s first 38 days (exception: 4/8)… TEX has been alone in 1st place for 21 of the last 23 days (beg. 4/14)…have had sole possession of 1st place in the West for 27 days overall in ‘23…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 ‘16 campaign (won division by 9.0 G)…

• Since 2014, this is just the 3rd season in which TEX has ever had sole possession of 1st place in the division after the end of April (won West in 2015-16)…from 2017-22, TEX had 1 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 has gone 2-0-1 in last 3 series and 6-1-1 in last 8…team is 7-3-1 overall in series this year, going 4-1-1 at home 3-2-0 on the road…club did not win a 7th series in 2022 until 6/10-12 at CWS…TEX won 4 straight series 4/10-23, longest such span since going 5-0-0 from 6/15- 7/1/18…has won 3 of last 4 road series (0-3, 4/24-26 at CIN).

LONG ROAD: TEX has won 2 straight after a season-long 4-G away losing skid…club is 8-7 (.533) on road, T4th-best away win pct. in A.L…Rangers’ 15 road games are T3rd-fewest in MLB (13-TB, 14-SD, 15-TEX/CHC/HOU/SEA)…before the current 2-4 span, Rangers had won previous 4 straight and 6 of prior 7 road contests…the 4-G win streak (4/16-19) was longest away win streak since a 4-0 span 6/11-17/22.

VS. SEATTLE: This week marks 1st of 4 series for the Rangers and M’s this season, next 6/2-4 at Globe Life Field…after the early June series, clubs will not meet again until the end of the year, the Rangers’ final home games 9/22-24 and the last contests of the year 9/29-10/1 in Seattle…TEX was 5-14 vs. M’s in 2022, winning 3 of last 5 G, but losing 11 of final 14…lost season series for 5th time in 6 years…TEX is just
11-34 vs. SEA beginning 8/21/20, going 4-22 at T-Moblie over that stretch…TEX has dropped 9 consecutive series in Seattle since taking 2 of 3 from 5/27-29/19…had a 13-G losing skid at T-Mobile from 7/24/19-7/2/21.

• With this all-A.L. West road trip, TEX is 6-3 in division games in ‘23, taking all 3 series (at HOU/vs. OAK/at LAA)… went 7-16 in last 23 division road games last year. ALIVE: Yesterday’s 16 R in Anaheim marked the Rangers’ MLB-high 9th game of 10+ R this season, a club record through Texas’ 1st 33 G in a campaign…since 1902, the only other MLB teams with 9 G of 10+ R after 33 contests in a season were the 1930 Brooklyn Robins/Dodgers (9) and the 1997 Colorado Rockies (9)…some other notes on the TEX offense to this point in the year:

• The Rangers’ 221 R rank 2nd in MLB (TB-225) and are a club record thru 33 G in a season…the last MLB team with at least 221 R through the 1st 33 G of a season was the 2000 Cardinals (223 R), while last A.L. team to do it was Cleveland in 1999 (232 R)…the 221 R are T4th-most after 33 G in the Expansion Era (see chart).

• TEX has scored 16+ R in a game 3 times in ‘23, accounting for 3 of the 8 MLB instances: 3-TEX, 1-CWS/NYM/PIT/ SD/SF…the 3 instances are already T2nd-most in a season in club history and one shy of team record: 4-1998, 3-2003/2004/2005/2023.

• TEX combined for 26 R and 32 H in winning the last 2 G in Anaheim, just 2nd time since 2013 to post those totals over any 2-G span (also 4/27-28/19.

• Yesterday’s 5-R 7th inning was Rangers’ MLB-high 10th individual inning of 5+ R in ‘23, one more than TB (9).

• The 16 R were most in a road game for TEX in ‘23, just 3rd time to ever score 16+ R at The Big A (also 18 R both 6/17/93 and 6/30/99).

MOST RUNS THRU 33 GAMES IN A SEASON, EXPANSION ERA (Since 1961)
R Team R Team
232 1999 CLE 221 1997 COL
231 1993 DET 221 2023 TEX
223 2000 STL 216 1998 TEX

WHY GO?: The Angels used position players on the mound to finish each of the last 2 G over the weekend, as TEX has now faced MLB-high 5 position players in 2023 (5-TEX, 3-CWS/PIT/TB)…in fact, if you exclude Shohei Ohtani from the list of position players, the 5 instances this season has already set a TEX club record (prev. 4 in 2014/2018/2019).

THE SKY I SCRAPE: With winning margins of 9 R and 8 R the past 2 days, the Rangers now have a season-best +85 run differential on the year, 2nd-best in MLB (TB is +115)… the +85 is highest figure for Texas at any point in any season since finishing 2013 with a +94 run margin.
(NO) MORE WAR: Marcus Semien and Jonah Heim each had 2 hits in yesterday’s win…the duo has shown up among A.L. WAR leaders for various stat services…FanGraphs WAR leaders for A.L. position players: 1.9-Matt Chapman, 1.9-Wander Franco, 1.8-Heim, 1.7-Semien…Baseball Reference WAR leaders among A.L. position players: 2.1-Matt Chapman, 2.0-Semien, 1.9-Wander Franco, 1.7-Heim… STATS has Semien (1.8) ranked 4th in the A.L., while it has Heim (1.5) ranked 8th.

TONIGHT’S STARTING PITCHER

22 Jon Gray, RHP

(1-1, 4.40)

TONIGHT: The 31-year-old right-hander is set to make his 7th appearance/start of the season in tonight’s series opener against the Mariners in Seattle…has posted no record, a 5.30 ERA (11 ER/18.2 IP), and more walks (9) than strikeouts (8) over his last 4 starts, raising his season ERA from 3.00 to 4.40…current HR/9 (1.8) and BB/9 (4.1) figures would both be career highs, while current SO/9 (5.6) mark would be his lowest since 2020 (career-low 5.1)…has logged at least 5.0 innings in 5 of 6 starts, as 30.2 IP are 3rd-most on club (44.2-Eovaldi, 37.1-Pérez)…5 of Gray’s 6 HR allowed in ‘23 have been solo shots…will work on extra 5 days’ rest this evening, as he last pitched in Rangers’ 6-4 victory on Tues. vs. ARI (see ‘Last Start’)…has gone 1-2 with a 5.53 ERA (17 ER/27.2 IP) in 5 career games/starts vs. SEA…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 2-4 in Gray’s 6 starts this season.

LAST START: Did not factor into decision of Rangers’ 6-4 victory on Tues. vs. ARI (ND, 5.1 IP, 8 H, 4 R-ER, 1 BB, 2 SO, 90 pitches/61 strikes)…allowed runs in each of his first 3.0 innings (2-1st, 1-2nd, 1-3rd), including a pair of solo home runs by Ketel Marte (1st inn.) and Christian Walker (3rd inn.)…held Arizona scoreless after Walker’s HR, retiring 10 of the final 12 batters he faced…registered just 6 swing-and-miss strikes, 2nd-fewest in any outing this season (4 on 4/15 at HOU), and has recorded fewer than 10 whiffs in 3 of 6 starts in ‘23 (Statcast).

VS. SEATTLE / A.L. WEST: Has gone 1-2 with a 5.53 ERA (17 ER/27.2 IP) in 5 career games/starts vs. Seattle, and is winless (0-2) in 3 outings against the M’s with Texas…all 3 starts against Seattle last season came at T-Mobile Park, most recently a 10-9 Rangers defeat on 9/29/22 at SEA (ND, 5.0 IP, 8 H, 6 R-ER, 3 HR)…both clubs combined for 9 HR (5-TEX, 4-SEA) in a slugfest, with Gray surrendering a trio of 2-R HR to Mitch Haniger (2 HR) and Jarred Kelenic (one HR).

• Tonight’s start will be Gray’s 3rd of the season against an A.L. West foe (also 4/15 at HOU, 4/21 vs. OAK)…he has no record and a 4.91 ERA (4 ER/7.1 IP) in those 2 starts, and is 2-3, 5.40 (29 ER/48.1 IP) in 9 G/GS vs. divisional opponents dating back to the beginning of 2022…his last win against a fellow A.L. West club came on 7/13/22 vs. OAK (W, 7.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 9 SO) in a 5-2 Texas victory.

ON THE ROAD: Gray has seen far more success in 3 starts on the road (1-0, 3.95 ERA) than in his 3 starts in Arlington (0-1, 4.76 ERA) this season…opponents have batted .234/.327/.362/.689 (11-47) w/ one HR in his away outings vs. .281/.365/.516/.880 (18-64) at Globe Life Field…he still owns a lower home ERA (3.75) than road ERA (4.22) in his 2 seasons with the Rangers (beg. 2022), though a majority (19 of 30) of his starts in that span have come on the road…19 road starts over the last 2 seasons are T10th-most in A.L. and rank 2nd among Texas pitchers behind only Martín Pérez (21).

• Despite calling hitter-friendly Coors Field home for the first 7 years of his MLB career (2015-21), Gray still owns better lifetime marks at home (35-20, 4.44 ERA) than on the road (26-37, 4.56 ERA). 1,000 K’S: Gray recorded a pair of strikeouts at CIN on 4/26 to reach 1,000 career strikeouts and become one of 43 active Major League pitchers with 1,000+ career strikeouts…he joined fellow Ranger teammates Ian Kennedy (1,765), Jacob deGrom (1,652), Jake Odorizzi (1,172), and Nathan Eovaldi (1,104) as the 5th pitcher on the Rangers’ 40-man roster with 1,000+ career strikeouts…no other team in baseball currently has more than 4 pitchers with 1,000-or-more career strikeouts on its 40-man roster: 5-TEX, 4-NYM, 3-BOS/KC/PHI/SD.

• Danny Duffy, who is on Triple-A Round Rock’s Injured List while rehabbing from a left elbow injury, ranks 36th among active ML hurlers with 1,048 career SO’s. 2023: Has allowed 3-or-fewer runs in 4 of his 6 starts…has received 19 runs of support in his starts, and his 5.58 RSA (Run Support Average) ranks lowest of all Texas starters…has issued team-high 14 walks (tied-Heaney) and 4.11 BB/9 figure is 12th-highest in A.L. (min. 30.0 IP)…opponents are batting .261/.349/.450/.799 (29-111)…10 of 14 BB have been issued to LHB (4 BB/11 SO vs. RHB)…opp. BA by time thru the lineup: 1st (.250, 12-48), 2nd (.316, 12-38), 3rd (.200, 5-25)…Jonah Heim has caught all 6 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…took loss in season debut on 4/3 vs. BAL (6.1 IP, 2 R-ER).

SEATTLE MARINERS NOTES:

TONIGHT’S TILT…the Mariners continue the 6-game homestand with the first of 3 games against the Texas Rangers, after picking up a series win against the Houston Astros (2-1) to open the homestand… tonight’s game will be televised live on ROOT SPORTS with Dave Sims and Dan Wilson on the call and broadcast live on Seattle Sports (710 AM) and Mariners.com with Rick Rizzs and Aaron Goldsmith.

ODDS AND ENDS…the Mariners defeated the Astros by a 3-1 score yesterday to pick up the series win… the Mariners are 6-1 over their last 7 games…10 of Seattle’s last 11 games (4/25-c) have been decided by 2-or-fewer runs, including 5 one-run games during that stretch…Seattle is 9-10 at T-Mobile Park and 8-7 on the road this season.

• .500 – The Mariners sit at 17-17 this season, the third time they have been at .500 (also: 1-1 on March 31, 8-8 on April 16).

• Ousting their Rubber Duck- Seattle picked up their first win of the season in a rubber game, improving to 1-2 in rubber games this season.

• Hit Parade – The Mariners picked up 11 hits in yesterday’s game, with 8-of-9 starters hitting safely, and 3 players recording multi-hit games.

• All Streaks Must End – Gabe Speier’s scoreless streak ended yesterday at 15 games and 12.2 innings pitched…the 15 appearances without allowing a run to begin a season was the 2nd-longest streak in franchise history, trailing only Mark Rzepczynski (16 in 2017).

• Multi-Hit Maestro – Ty France (2×3) picked up his 94th multi-hit game since 2021 in yesterday’s game, the 10th-most in the American league during that span.

THRILL ON THE HILL…the Mariners pitching staff leads the Majors in FanGraphs Wins Above Replacement (6.9), ranking ahead of Minnesota (5.9)…Seattle pitchers also lead the Majors in Fielding Independent Pitching (3.41), soft-contact percentage (19.7), fewest barrels (46) and barrels-per-plate appearance percentage (3.6)…Mariners starting pitchers rank 2nd in fWAR (4.4) behind Minnesota (5.0)… Mariners relief pitchers are tied for the Major League lead in fWAR (2.4) tied with Baltimore and Los Angeles-AL.

THEY MESS WITH TEXAS…dating back to 2020, the Mariners are 35-13 against the Texas Rangers, and 22-4 against the Rangers at T-Mobile Park…during that span, Mariners pitchers own a 3.31 ERA (159 ER, 432.0 IP) with 398 strikeouts against Texas, while Mariners hitters have gotten on base at a .338 clip while slugging .413 (.751 OPS) with 66 home runs against their AL West foes…8 Mariners hitters have a career OPS above .750 against Texas with Teoscar Hernández (.950), Eugenio Suárez (.904), Sam Haggerty (.892), Ty France (.855) and AJ Pollock (.817) leading Mariners hitters.

KELENIC’S CRUSH CLINIC…Jarred Kelenic has been one of the most effective hitters in the American League this season, batting .298 (34×114) with 15 runs, 10 doubles, 7 home runs, 16 RBI, 5 stolen bases and 10 walks, while getting on base at a .357 clip, slugging .573 with a .927 OPS in 32 games…Kelenic has the 5th-highest slugging percentage in the AL…the 23-year-old outfielder carries a 158 wRC+, ranking tied for 6th in the AL, trailing only Brent Rooker-OAK (207), Yandy Diaz-TB (192), Matt Chapman-TOR (187), Randy Arozarena-TB (177) and Jonah Heim-TEX (161).

CRAWFORD IS CRUISIN’…J.P. Crawford is batting .269 (18×67) with a .424 on base percentage and an .812 OPS over his last 23 games (4/11-c), while he has walked more (18) than he has struck out (16) during that span…overall this season, Crawford is batting .240 (25×104) with 17 runs, 8 doubles, 1 home run and 14 RBI, while getting on base at a .378 clip with a .724 OPS, a 117 wRC+ and a 0.8 fWAR…he ranks 6th in the Majors among qualified hitters in walk rate (18.0%)…Crawford’s 36.7% hard-hit rate is the highest mark of his career.

BULLPEN ACES…Matt Brash, Paul Sewald, Trevor Gott, Justin Topa and Gabe Speier all rank in the top 25 in fWAR among AL pitchers…the Mariners are the only team with 5 players to rank among the top 25 relievers in fWAR in their respective league, ranking ahead of Baltimore, Los Angeles-AL, Los Angeles-NL, New York-AL, Colorado and St. Louis, who all are tied with 3…Brash has an 18.0 SO/9, which leads the Majors (min. 10 IP) and is the highest in a single season in Mariners history (min. 10.0 IP), while his 0.7 fWAR is the 2nd highest among AL relievers in the Majors…Speier has a 0.69 ERA (1 ER, 13.0 IP), and began his season with 12.2 innings without allowing a run…Sewald is 9-for-9 in save opportunities while opponents are hitting just .185 (12×65) against him…Topa has limited opponents to a .523 OPS and has a 1.29 ERA (2 ER, 14.0 IP)…Gott has a 2.08 ERA (4 ER, 17.1 IP).

WALTER DAY…Mariners starting pitcher Logan Gilbert is making his 7th start of the season in tonight’s game…through 6 starts, Gilbert is 1-1 with a 4.01 ERA (15 ER, 33.2 IP) with 40 strikeouts and 7 walks… Gilbert’s 5.71 SO/BB ratio ranks 12th in the Majors among pitchers with at least 25.0 innings pitched this season…Logan is setting career-best marks in SO/BB (5.71), hard-hit rate (38.6%), WHIP (1.069) and SO/9 (10.7)…Gilbert will face the Texas Rangers for the 8th time in his career, tied for the most he has faced any opponent (also: Oakland)…in 4 starts against the Rangers in 2022, Gilbert had a 1.90 ERA (5 ER, 23.2 IP).

GETTING DEEP…Mariners starting pitchers have gone at least 6.0 innings in 8 of their last 10 outings, including in each of the last 6 games…overall this season, Mariners starting pitchers rank tied for 6th in the Majors and 4th in the AL with 187.2 innings pitched this season.

AS YOU MAY KNOW…Mariners starting pitchers in their age-26 or younger season (Bryce Miller, George Kirby, Logan Gilbert and Easton McGee) have combined for 15 starts, going 5-3 with a 2.90 ERA (29 ER, 90.0 IP) with 83 strikeouts and 12 walks, but…DID YOU KNOW?…that Seattle starting pitchers that are 26 and younger have been worth 2.8 fWAR, which leads the Majors, ranking ahead of Houston (2.7) and Atlanta (2.3)?…they also rank 3rd in ERA, 1st in FIP (2.84), 1st in SO/BB (6.92), 1st in WHIP (0.89), 2nd in opponents average (.205) and 2nd in hard-hit rate (33.9%)…Kirby (1.1 fWAR), Gilbert (0.9 fWAR) and Miller (0.7 fWAR) all rank in the top 15 in fWAR among pitchers 26 and younger, and…DID YOU ALSO KNOW?… that Mariners starters who are in their age-26 or younger season have 11 quality starts this season, which leads the Majors?…each of the Mariners 4 starters in that age group have recorded a quality start and Seattle is the only team in the Majors with 4 different pitchers in that age group with a quality start.

MARINERS STARTER – RHP LOGAN GILBERT
ABOUT LOGAN GILBERT…
• The 26-year-old right-handed pitcher is scheduled to make his 7th start of the season and 1st against Texas…he will also make the 63rd start of his MLB career and 8th career start against the Rangers.

• Selected by Seattle in the 1st round (14th overall) of the 2018 MLB First-Year Player Draft; signed by Mariners scout Rob Mummau.

• Spent 3 seasons at Stetson (FL) University, 2016-18…in 2017, was ASUN Pitcher of the Year and ASUN 1st-Team All-Conference.

• Was named the 2022 Mariners Most Valuable Pitcher by the Seattle Chapter of the BBWAA.

LAST TIME OUT…ND in 6th start of the season against Oakland on 5/3, tossing 6.0 innings and allowing 2 runs on 3 hits with 2 walks and 6
strikeouts.

AMONG MARINERS GREATS…with his 8 strikeouts in his outing on 4/18 vs. MIL Logan passed Randy Johnson for the 3rd most strikeouts through a pitchers first 60 Mariners starts with 330…he trails only Félix Hernández (351) and Erik Hanson (349).

VS. TEXAS…is set to make his 8th career start against the Texas Rangers…he is 2-0 with a 2.85 ERA (13 ER, 41.0 IP) with 8 walks and 37 strikeouts…he has limited Rangers batters to a .231 (36×156) batting average and has only allowed 3 home runs…his 2.85 ERA is his lowest against any AL West opponent while his .231 opponent average is the 2nd lowest.

STRIKEOUT STREAK…in each of his first 6 starts this season, Gilbert has recorded at least 6 strikeouts…this marks the first time in his career that he has pitched 6 straight games with 6+ strikeouts…the active 6-game streak is the 3rd longest streak among starting pitchers in the Majors this season… he trails only Pablo López-MIN and Spencer Strider-ATL who each have a 7-game streak.

KEEPING THE BASES CLEAN…has only allowed 36 baserunners through his first 6 starts this season which ranks 1st among Mariners starting pitchers…he ranks ahead of Luis Castillo (38)…his 36 baserunners allowed is tied for 6th in the Major Leagues among pitchers who have made at least 6 starts this season with Luis Garcia-HOU.

ON A ROLL…Logan’s 40 strikeouts so far this season ranks second among Mariners starting pitchers…he trails only Luis Castillo (43)…his 34 strikeouts in March/April was a new career high to start the season.

QUALITY AND QUANTITY…has recorded three quality starts this season tied for 2nd most on the team with Luis Castillo and trailing only George Kirby (5)…had 16 quality starts in 2022 the 3rd most among Mariners starting pitchers and tied 16th in the AL with Dylan Cease-CHW and Shohei Ohtani-LAA …he trailed only Marco Gonzales and Robbie Ray who each had 18.

DECISIONS, DECISIONS…is 1-1 on the season…his 2 decisions this season are tied for the 3rd fewest in the Major Leagues among starting pitchers with at least 6 starts…he is also tied for the fewest decisions among Mariners pitchers with a least 6 starts with Luis Castillo and Marco Gonzales.

PLAYOFF PERFORMER…made 1 start in the playoffs, on 10/11/22 at HOU in Game 1 of the ALDS…ND after allowing 3 runs on 5 hits (1 HR) and 2 walks with 5 strikeouts over 5.1 innings.

PITCHER OF THE MONTH…was named AL Pitcher of the Month for April 2022, the first time he has won the award…marks the first Mariners winner since James Paxton in July, 2017 and the 14th different player to win the award (19th instance).

MONTH OF MARVEL…his 0.40 ERA (1 ER, 22.1 IP) in April 2022 was the lowest ERA in a month in Mariners history, surpassing Mark Langston’s 0.50 ERA (3 ER, 53.2 IP) in September 1988 (min. 20.0 IP).

FIRST 50…made his 50th career start on 8/26/22, going 16-10 with a 4.01 ERA (120 ER, 269.0 IP) with 261 strikeouts…his 261 strikeouts are the 5thmost over a pitchers first 50 career starts in Mariners history, trailing Félix Hernández (295), Erik Hanson (279), Hisashi Iwakuma (266) and Taijuan Walker (263).

THE KING AND I…became the 3rd fastest Mariners starter to 300 career strikeouts when he struck out Vimael Machín on 9/30/22 vs. OAK…it took Gilbert just 56 starts to reach the milestone…only Félix Hernández (51 GS) and Erik Hanson (53 GS) reached the milestone in fewer games.