TEXAS RANGERS NOTES:
WINS AND LOSSES: Texas beat the Orioles in last game on Wed. in Arlington, 5-2, snapping a 2-G losing skid…Rangers’ current 4-2 record matches the best 6-G start for the club in the past 10 seasons beg. 2014, as only other 4-2 start in that span came in 2019…also matches best 6-G start since opening 2011 with a 6-0 record…only time Rangers have been above .500 after 7 G since 2014?: a 5-2 start in 2019…team opened the 2023 campaign with a 3-0 record for just the 9th time in Rangers history, longest season-opening win streak since 2011 (6-0).
• Texas could match the season high point with a win today… reached a season-best 3-over .500 (3-0) with win Sun. vs. PHI, 1st time to be 3-over since a 58-55 mark after losing the 1st game of a doubleheader on 8/7/19 at CLE.
STANDINGS: The Rangers enter today’s slate tied with the Los Angeles Angels (also 4-2, .667) for the A.L. West lead, sitting +1.5 GA of 3rd-place Houston (3-4, .429)…Texas has been alone or tied atop the division for each of the last 8 days, as this marks the latest date for the club to own even a share of 1st place in the West since the final day of team’s division-winning season in 2016 (10/2/16)…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: Rangers are 1-1-0 in series this season after a series loss against the O’s this week…the 3-0 finish vs. PHI to open the season marked the 1st time for Texas to win the 1st series of a season since 2019 (won final 2 G of 3-G series 3/28-31 vs. CHC), and the 7th time in club history to open a campaign with a sweep in a series of 3+ G (last 3-0 in 2011 vs. BOS).
• The Rangers were winless (0-4-0) over their first 4 series in 2022, failing to record their first series win until 4/22-24/22 at OAK (2-1).
VS. CUBS: The Rangers open this brief 3-G road trip against the Cubs at Wrigley, team’s 1st road game of the season (see separate note)…this will be the 1st of 2 trips to Chicago this season for Texas, also playing White Sox on the South Side from 6/19-21…TEX is 9-9 all-tme vs. Cubs, last matching up in a season-opening series 3/28-31/19 at the former Globe Life Park in Arlington (TEX won 2 of 3 G)…Rangers have not visited Wrigley since dropping 2 of 3 out of AS break, 7/15-17/16…team is 4-5 all-time at Wrigley Field.
INTERLEAGUE: The Rangers have won 3 straight, 5 of 6, and 13 of last 18 Interleague games beg. 4/30/22…club was 11-9 (.550) vs. N.L. in 2022 after 4 straight losing seasons from 2018-21…TEX has gone 9-5 in road Interleague games since 6/12/21, this after a club-record 11-G road Interleague losing skid from 8/16/20-6/11/21…as a result of this year’s balanced schedule for all 30 clubs – a first since Interleague play was introduced in 1997 – the Rangers are slated to play a record 46 Interleague contests in 2023.
ROAD OPENER: The Rangers are 20-31 all-time in their first road game of a season entering today’s game in Chicago, losing 3 straight and 9 of last 10 beg. 2013…lone win in that span was 4/4/19 at LAA (11-4 win), which snapped a 6-G skid in road openers…have also lost 10 of 12, 16 of 19, and 19 of last 23 in the first away contest of a campaign.
• Today marks the 2nd time the Rangers will ever play an Interleague game for the 1st road tilt of a season, the other on 7/31/20 at SF…club lost that game 9-2 in 1st road trip of the abbreviated season that featured a week in the Bay Area… this will be the 3rd time for Texas to play its 1st road game in Chicago, the others against the White Sox in 1996 (3-2 win on 4/9/96) and 1975 (6-5 win on 4/15/75).
ON THE ROAD: Texas lost its last 5 away games in 2022, going 4-14 on the road beg. 9/1/22…team was 34-47 (.420) overall in away games last year, winning back-to-back road games just twice over the season’s final 3 months.
SIMPLY BRILLIANT: Jacob deGrom earned the win on Wed. vs. BAL (6.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R-1 ER, 2 BB, 11 SO), his 1st victory in a Texs uniform…his 11 strikeouts were the 2nd-most by a Texas pitcher since the start of the 2020 season behind only a 12-SO performance by Jon Gray on 6/1/22 vs. TB…deGrom has posted 18 SO through 2 starts w/ TEX, T2nd-most ever by a pitcher in his first 2 outings as a Ranger: 23-Nolan Ryan in 1989, 18-deGrom in 2023/Jamie Moyer in 1989 (Stathead)…additional notes on deGrom’s outing:
• Became just the 3rd pitcher in club history to tally 11+ SO in an outing while throwing 92-or-fewer pitches, joining Yu Darvish on 7/22/16 at KC (11 SO/91 pitches) and Matt Perisho on 10/3/99 at LAA (12 SO/78 pitches)…deGrom is the first Texas pitcher ever to pull the trick in Arlington.
• Was perfect through 4.0 innings, retiring all 12 batters faced before Ryan Mountcastle led off the 5th with a double…according to Elias Sports Bureau, his 9 career starts opened with 4.0+ perfect innings are T2nd-most in baseball since the beg. of his debut season in 2014: 10-Max Scherzer, 9-deGrom/Clayton Kershaw, 8-Madison Bumgarner/Justin Verlander.
BULLPEN STILL GOING: With 3.0 SHO IP on Wed. vs. BAL, Texas relievers now have a streak of 21.1 consecutive scoreless innings since a run against Jonathan Hernández in the 7th inning on Opening Day, 3/30 vs. PHI…the Texas bullpen leads MLB in relief ERA (0.73), opp. BA (.134), and WHIP (0.73), remaining one of 4 teams whose relievers have yet to allow a HR (also BOS/CIN/STL).
THESE DAYS: With 3 day games this weekend at Wrigley, the Rangers are in a span of playing 4 consecutive day contests…club also had 4 straight day games in 2022 (6/3-7/22), as a doubleheader on 6/7/22 at CLE had a pair of games categorized as day tilts…last instance of 4 day games over 4 separate days for Texas came to open the 2021 season: 4/1-4 at KC and 4/5 vs. TOR
• TEX is 3-0 in day games in ‘23, batting .343/.410/.562/.972 and leading MLB in all 4 slash categories as well as runs scored (32)…Adolis García is 7-for-12 w/ a 2B, BB, and 4 RBI in the 3 day games, while Robbie Grossman is 4-for-10 w/ a HR, BB, and 5 RBI.
FOREVER JUNG: Josh Jung hit a 2-R HR on Wed. vs. BAL and is now tied with Mitch Garver for the team lead in HR (2)…has started at third base and batted 5th in each of the Rangers’ 6 G this season, slashing .318/.375/.636/1.011 (7- 22)…has hits in team season-high 5 straight games at .368 (7-19), tied for longest hitting streak of his career (also 5 G from 9/12-16/22).
WHY YOU GOT TO BE SO COLD?: The forecast temperature for first pitch today is 43 degrees…the Rangers have not played a game with such a temperature at 1st pitch in nearly 2 years, with the last instance also coming in a visit to Chicago…club had a 43-degree start for series finale on 4/25/21 at CWS, an 8-4 TEX loss in a Kohei Arihara start, a game recalled fondly by many who were present.
BRUUUUUUUUUCE: Rangers manager Bruce Bochy enters today’s game with a lifetime managerial record of 2,007-2,031 (.497) over 4,038 games with San Diego (951-975, .494), San Francisco (1,052-1,054, .4995), and Texas (4-2, .667)…he currently ranks 12th on MLB’s all-time managerial
wins list, needing just 2 more victories to move into 11th place over Hall of Famer Leo Durocher (2,008 wins)…this weekend marks Bochy’s 1st games at Wrigley since 8/22/19 with SF.
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER – #17 Nathan Eovaldi, RHP (1-0, 5.40)
TODAY: The 33-year-old right-hander is set to make his 2nd start of the season in today’s road opener at Wrigley…earned win in his TEX debut on Sat. vs. PHI (5.0 IP, 3 R-ER), exiting with a 7-3 lead before the Rangers piled on for a 16-3 victory…Eovaldi (ee-VAHL-dee) signed a 2-year free agent contract with the Rangers on 12/27/22…produced a 1-0 record, 2.35 ERA (4 ER/15.1 IP), and 19 strikeouts/2 walks over 4 ‘A’ game starts this spring…experienced tightness in his left side following spring debut on 2/25 vs. KC, but resumed throwing on 3/8 with no reported issues since…in 2022, his final season with Boston, went 6-3 with a 3.87 ERA (47 ER/109.1 IP) over 20 G/GS…ranked among A.L. leaders (min. 100.0 IP) in SO/BB (8th, 5.15) and BB/9 (9th, 1.65)…was slowed by a pair of IL stints: 6/9-7/14 (low back inflammation) and 8/19-9/28 (right shoulder inflammation)…the Texas native is seeking a return to his 2021 form, when he was an All-Star with the Red Sox and finished 4th in A.L. Cy Young Award voting… his Red Sox stint included a historic postseason stretch during the team’s 2018 World Series run, as he appeared in 3 of club’s 5 games during that year’s Fall Classic…from 2019-22, induced misses on 26.1% of swings by opposing batters, the 9th-best rate in the A.L. over that span (min. 400.0 IP)…has averaged 96.1 mph on his fastball over the course of his career, the 4th-highest figure in MLB
since 2011…from 2020-22, led all A.L. pitchers (min. 300.0 IP) in both walks per 9 innings (1.64) and strikeouts per walk (5.65)…has 241 games/222 starts with LAD (2011-12), MIA (2012-14), NYY (2015-16), TB (2018), BOS (2018-22) and TEX (2023)…joins Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan as the only graduates of Alvin (TX) High School to reach the Major Leagues.
TEXAS DEBUT: Made his Rangers debut in club’s 2nd game of the season on Sat. vs. PHI, a 16-3 TEX victory (5.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R-ER, 2 BB, 6 SO, 82 pitches/49 strikes)…became 1st Texas starting pitcher to be awarded a win in his first start with the club since A.J. Alexy on 8/3/21 vs. COL…the Alvin, TX native became the 5th native Texan ever to earn a win in his Rangers debut (last Kip Wells on 8/2/06 at MIN)…induced 11 swing-and-miss strikes (5-Splitter, 3-Cutter, 2-FourSeam Fastball, 1-Curveball) according to Statcast…averaged 95.9 mph on his fastball, well in line with his career average (96.1)…did not allow a run over his 1st 3 innings, but permitted 2 R in a 29-pitch 4th inning…also endured some unlucky plays behind him…as produced a 5-2 record and 4.05 ERA (27 ER/61.2 IP) in 12 season debut starts, logging 5.0+ IP in each of those 12 outings…served as the Red Sox Opening Day starter ifor 3 seasons (2020-22)…moved to 5-0 in last 8 starts vs. PHI dating to 2013.
VS. CHICAGO-NL: Is 0-1, 3.95 (6 ER/13.2 IP) in 2 G/GS over his career against the Cubs, both in June 2014 with the Marlins…his only career outing at Wrigley: 6/6/14 (ND, 7.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R-1 ER, 1 BB, 8 SO)…Marlins ended up with a walk-off loss in 13 innings on a 2-R HR by Anthony Rizzo off Kevin Slowey.
GOING NATIONAL: Since taking a loss on 6/5/18 at WAS while with Tampa Bay, Eovaldi has gone 6-0 with a 2.61 ERA (21 ER/72.1 IP) over his last 14 G/GS in Interleague play, all against N.L. opponents…his teams are 9-5 in those contests… has made 9 road starts over that span in N.L. parks: 3-0, 2.35 (12 ER/46.0 IP).
SPRING TRAINING: Registered a 1-0 record, 2.35 ERA (4 ER/15.1 IP), and 2 walks/19 strikeouts over 4 Cactus League ‘A’ game starts this spring…was inactive for several days after experiencing tightness in his left side following 1st outing of the spring 2/25 vs. KC…resumed throwing in light bullpen session on 3/8, and threw another bullpen 3/10…pitched in Double-A Frisco’s game vs. Northwest Arkansas (KC AA) on Field 2 in Surprise on 3/13 (2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 29 pitches/22 strikes)
ON THE ROAD: Fared far better on the road (4-0, 2.64 ERA) that at Fenway Park (2-3, 5.26 ERA) last season, but has traditionally performed better at home (31- 31, 3.96 ERA) than on the road (37-37, 4.37 ERA) in his career.
• His 2.64 road ERA (17 ER/58.0 IP) in 2022 finished as 9th-best in the American League (minimum 10 starts)…was 4-0 with a .229/.258/.395/.652 opp. slash line and 8 BB/62 SO in 10 G/GS and 58.0 IP in away tilts…of his 19 runs allowed on the road, 14 came via his 10 HR allowed in away games.
2022: In his final season with Boston, went 6-3 with a 3.87 ERA (47 ER/109.1 IP) over 20 games/starts, including a 4-0 record and 2.64 ERA in 10 road starts… made at least 20 starts for 7th time in his career…ranked among A.L. leaders (minimum 100.0 IP) in SO/BB (8th, 5.15) and BB/9 (9th, 1.65)…posted a sub-4.00 ERA for the 3rd consecutive season (also 3.72 in 2020, 3.75 in 2021)…outside of outings on 5/17 vs. HOU (6 ER) and 7/22 vs. TOR (9 ER), produced a 2.74 ERA (32 ER/105.0 IP) in his other 18 starts…was slowed by a pair of Injured List stints 6/9-7/14 (low back inflammation) and 8/19-9/28 (right shoulder inflammation), which led to mechanical issues with his delivery…was 1-1, 3.15 (14 ER/40.0 IP) over first 7 starts thru 5/11 before game on 5/17 vs. HOU (1.2 IP, 9 R-6 ER) spiked season figure to 4.32…had 7.0 SHO IP in back-to-back starts, 4/25 at TOR and 4/30 at BAL, including 5.2 hitless frames to open start vs. the O’s…was 3-0, 2.03 (7 ER/31.0 IP) in next 5 starts spanning first IL stint 5/22-7/15 to drop to 3.34, then took loss in Sox’ 28-5 defeat on 7/22 vs. TOR (2.2 IP, 9 R-ER) to rise to 4.30…his 17.0 consecutive scoreless innings from 5/28-7/15 marked 2nd-longest streak of his career (19.0 IP in 2018)…posted a career-high 11 SO on 5/22 vs. SEA…would go 2-0, 2.91 (11 ER/34.0 IP) in final 6 GS beg. 7/27 to finish at 3.87.
CHICAGO CUBS NOTES:
HOME, HOME ON THE RANGE: The Chicago Cubs today play the first of three games against the Texas Rangers to begin a six-game A.L. West division homestand that features three games against Texas followed by three contests against the Seattle Mariners, starting Monday … the Cubs on Wednesday were rained out in Cincinnati after splitting the first two games – the Reds took Monday’s series opener 7-6 before Chicago won Tuesday’s tilt 12-5 … the team had yesterday off.
The Cubs have scored five or more runs in each of their last three games … in 2022, Chicago plated five or more runs in at least three-straight games just four times, including a season-high five-consecutive contests from May 20-24 at Cincinnati (2 G) and vs. Arizona (3 G).
The Cubs open the season with 15 of their first 24 games through April 27 at Wrigley Field … of those first 24 tilts, just five are against their own division, the N.L. Central: the season-opening Brewers series and the abbreviated twogame set against the Reds … in fact, the Cubs now play 29-straight games outside of the division until hosting the Cardinals for three games, May 8-10.
INTERLEAGUE INTERLUDE: With MLB’s new schedule format for the 2023 season, the Cubs will play every A.L. club this regular season, totaling 46 games … Chicago is 216-219 (.497) all-time against the A.L. since interleague play began in 1997 … the team was 6-14 (.300) in interleague play last season.
Ian Happ and Patrick Wisdom are tied for 10th among Cubs hitters all-time with 11 home runs apiece in interleague play … Derrek Lee is ninth with 12.
AGAINST THE RANGERS: Cody Bellinger has hit .357 (10-for-28) with three homers and seven RBI in eight career regular season games against the Rangers, posting a .500 OBP and .821 slugging mark … Eric Hosmer has the most extensive experience among Cubs position players against Texas, having played 56 games against the Rangers (has hit .256, 54-for-211 with 11 home runs and 31 RBI).
FIRST THING FIRST: The Cubs have scored in the first inning in each of their last three games and have not been retired in order in any of their five opening frames thus far, hitting .458 (11-for-24) with five runs scored.
Conversely, Cubs pitching has allowed nine hits in 20 first-inning at-bats (.450) with three walks, leading to four runs surrendered.
START NO. 200: Marcus Stroman today makes his 200th career start (it’ll be his 206th career game) … Stroman in his first 199 career starts has posted a 67-67 record and a 3.56 ERA (460 ER/1,162.2 IP) with 326 walks and 972 strikeouts.
Stroman enters today 20 strikeouts away from 1,000 for his career.
In his last eight starts dating to Aug. 30 of last season, Stroman has pitched to
1.88 ERA (10 ER/48.0 IP) with a 0.98 WHIP … he’s walked 12 and struck out 43 batters in this span.
RUCK ON THE BUMP: Cubs reliever Michael Rucker has stranded all five runners he’s inherited thus far … he’s one of just two major league relievers to not allow an inherited runner to score while also stranding at least five on base … he joins Pittsburgh’s Dauri
Moreta (5 IR/0 IRS).
TOUCHING HOME: Ian Happ has scored at least one run in each of his first five games to start the season, the first Cub to turn the trick since Anthony Rizzo in 2020 … the last Cubs to score in each of their first six games to open a campaign were Alex Gonzalez (7 games) and Mark Grudzielanek (6) in 2003.
WE’LL NEED THIS IN TRIPLICATE: The Cubs had four players record three-hit games Tuesday night: Nico Hoerner, Ian Happ, Cody Bellinger and Patrick Wisdom … it’s just the fifth time since 2015 Chicago had four or more players each record three or more hits in a game – previously done June 30 of last season against the Reds (Higgins, Hoerner, Morel and Wisdom).
DISHING ON DANSBY: Dansby Swanson has reached safely in each of his first five games as a Cub, including hits in four games, featuring three three-hit contests … he’s sporting a .500 average (10-for-20) and a .583 OBP thanks in part to four walks compared to two strikeouts in 24 plate appearances.
Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) pointed out that Swanson is the first Cub since at least 1901 with at least three three-hit games within the team’s first four games of the season.
In this season’s early going Swanson is 5-for-8 when dealing with a two-strike count … since the start of last season, his 77 hits with two strikes in the count rank tied for third most in the N.L. and seventh in baseball.
WAY TO GET ON THE BOARD: Cubs outfielder Cody Bellinger snapped a season-opening 0-for-11 with a three-run first-inning home run Monday night in Cincinnati … he’s the first player to homer to end a drought of at least 11 at-bats to open his Cubs career since, well, just two years ago – Joc Pederson collected his first hit, a home run, on April 7, 2021, vs. Milwaukee after going hitless in his first 15 at-bats as a Cub.
WORD TO THE WISE: Patrick Wisdom on Sunday recorded his sixth career multi-homer effort, going 2-for-4 with two solo shots against the Brewers at Wrigley Field … since the start of the 2021 season, Wisdom has averaged one home run every 14.96 at-bats, the third-best rate among N.L. hitters with at least 900 plate appearances (Kyle Schwarber, 11.89, and Pete Alonso, 14.80).
Wisdom’s 55 homers since the start of the 2021 season are tied for 12th-most among N.L. hitters.
Starting Pitcher – #0 RHP Marcus Stroman (1-0, 0.00)
Last Time Out
Marcus made his third career Opening Day start (also 2016 and 2019) on March 30 vs. Milwaukee … improved to 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA (3 ER/21.0 IP) in his three career Opening Day outings … tossed 6.0 scoreless innings in his 2023 Wrigley Field debut after pitching to a 5.18 ERA (37 ER/64.1 IP) in 12 starts at home in 2022 … tallied eight strikeouts, his most in an outing since May 24, 2022 at Cincinnati (also eight).
2023 Splits and Season Notes
Marcus is scheduled to make his second start of the 2023 season today vs. Texas … dating to Aug. 30, 2022, has allowed one run or fewer in six of his last eight starts, pitching to a 1.88 ERA (10 ER/48.0 IP) during the run.
Made his third career Opening Day start March 30 vs. Milwaukee (0 ER/6.0 IP), earning the win … improved to 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA (3 ER/21.0 IP) in his three career Opening Day starts.
In three Cacuts League starts with the Cubs, went 2-0 with a 0.90 ERA (1 ER/10.0 IP) and 10 strikeouts.
Made two starts for Team Puerto Rico in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, posting a 3.00 ERA (3 ER/9.0 IP).
2022 Splits and Season Notes
Sept. 16 vs. Colorado, tossed 5.2 hitless innings to begin the game, his second-longest no-hit bid of his career (6.0 IP, July 24, 2014 vs. Boston; source: Elias).
Faced Toronto for the first time in his career August 30 (1 ER/5.0 IP).
Went 1-0 with a 2.23 ERA (11 ER/44.1 IP) in eight starts from July 9-August 20 … the 2.23 ERA was the fifth-lowest in the MLB during that span (min. 8 GS).
Was on the 15-day injured list, June 10-July 9 with right shoulder inflammation.
Pitched to a 1.80 ERA (6 ER/30.0 IP) in five starts from April 26-May 29, the third-lowest ERA in the N.L. (min. 30 IP) during that span.
Made his Cubs debut on April 10 vs. Milwaukee (1 ER/5.0 IP).
Career Notes
Marcus is in his ninth major league season since debuting in 2014 with Toronto … signed a three-year contract with the Cubs on December 1, 2021.
Has made 30-or-more starts in four of the five full seasons since 2016, tied for the second-most such campaigns in the majors.
Since making his big league debut with Toronto in 2014, his 0.85 home runs allowed per 9.0 innings are second-lowest among all pitchers with at least 190 starts in that span.
His 57.7-percent ground ball rate ranks second-highest since the start of 2014, surpassed by Dallas Keuchel (59.3).
Started two series-clinching wins for the Blue Jays in the postseason … started Game 5 of the 2015 ALDS vs. Texas and the 2016 A.L. Wild Card game … delivered a quality start in both games to help Toronto advance.
Earned 2017 World Baseball Classic MVP honors, posting a 1-1 record with a 2.35 ERA (4 ER/15.1 IP) for Team USA … took a no-hitter into the seventh inning of the championship game, an 8-0 victory over Puerto Rico.
His work in the final game earned him the USABA International Performance of the Year Award.
Selected by Toronto in the first round (22nd overall) of the 2012 Draft out of Duke University. Became Duke’s first ever first-round selection in the MLB Draft. 3:05 PM ET
