TEXAS RANGERS NOTES:
WINS AND LOSSES: Texas lost to the Nationals, 8-3, yesterday in D.C. and is now 2-3 on this 6-game road trip at BOS (1-2) and WAS (1-1 + 1 G) to close out the first “half”…team is 10-11 in last 21 G after a 2-7 span from 6/7-16…have a 12- 18 record last 30 G (beg. 6/7)…club has still won 23 of 43, 26 of 47, and 34 of last 59 G (beg. 5/6)…team still has A.L.-best 38-27 (.585) record since 4/28, 6th in MLB over that span… TEX is 42-32 in last 74 G and 47-34 last 81 G (beg. 4/9).
- At 52-38 (.578), TEX owns the T4th-best record in MLB to ATL (.682, 60-28), TB (.620, 57-35), and BAL (.602, 53- 35)…52 wins rank T4th in MLB (60-ATL, 57-TB, 53-BAL).
- The 52-38 mark is the T5th-best 90-G start to a season in Washington/Texas franchise history (see chart below).
- Texas is currently 14 G over .500, 6 G shy of matching season high point of 20-over after win 6/6 vs. STL (40-20)… marked latest point in a season to be 20-over since finishing 95-67 (28-over) in division-winning 2016 campaign.
WITH A WIN TODAY Texas would:
- Snap span of 4 straight winless series (0-3-1) and earn 1st series victory since 6/19-21 at CWS (2-1).
- Finish with 53 wins before the All-Star break, which would be 3rd-most in Rangers history (54 in 2016 & 2013).
STANDINGS: Rangers enter today with a 2.0-game lead in the A.L. West over 2nd-place HOU, with the team losing 3 G in the standings during recent 2-5 stretch…club had a season-best 6.5-G lead in West after win 6/23 at NYY, which was largest division lead since winning the West by 9.0 G in 2016…TEX has had sole possession of 1st place in the West for 63 straight, 70 of 71 and 83 of the last 85 days beg. 4/14.
- TEX has been alone or tied atop the division for 98 of the season’s first 99 days (exception: 4/8).
SERIES STUFF: Texas is winless (0-3-1) in last 4 series and has gone 2-5-1 in last 8 series following a stretch of 6 straight series victories from 5/19-6/7…those 6 straight series wins marked longest span for team since club-record 10 straight series victories from 5/20-6/20/16…club is 17-9-2 overall in series this year, going 8-4-2 at home and 9-5-0 on the road… is 13-6-2 in last 21 series and 16-7-2 in last 25…team has lost 2 straight and is 1-3-0 in last 4 road series after winning WSH/TEX franchise-record 6 straight away sets from 5/5-31.
ON THE ROAD: The Rangers have lost 5 of last 7 and 9 of last 15 away games…club is still 25-20 (.556) on the road this season, good for the 3rd-best away record in the A.L./6thbest in MLB (30-13, .698-ATL; 26-15, .634-ARI; 27-17, .614- BAL; 27-19, .587-CIN; 25-19, .568-HOU)…club has still won 12 of 22, 14 of 25, 16 of 28, and 19 of last 32 on road.
- Rangers rank 2nd in MLB in R (245) and 4th in R/G (5.44) on the road this season…club’s .753 road OPS is 3rd-highest in A.L. (.785-LAA, .772-TB), but still over .100 points lower than OPS at Globe Life Field (.856).
VS. WASHINGTON: This 3-game series against the Nationals marks Rangers’ 1st trip to the nation’s capital since 2017 (3-0, 6/9-11/17), and the 4th ever road series for the WSH/ TEX franchise in D.C…the Rangers are 10-7 all-time vs. Washington (beg. 2005), including a 7-4 record at Nationals Park…Texas has won 5 of 6 and 7 of its last 10 G in D.C…this marks the 2nd straight season for the Rangers to face the Nationals (TEX went 1-2 from 6/24-26/22 in Arlington).
INTERLEAGUE: Texas has gone 14-11 in Interleague play this season, winning 5 of 7, 8 of 11, and 9 of last 13 G vs. N.L. clubs…TEX is 25-17 (.595) in last 42 G vs. N.L. dating back to 4/30/22, but is 10-11 in road Interleague games in that span.
MLB JUNGBOY: Josh Jung homered in the 4th (2-run) and 6th (solo) innings yesterday, accounting for all 3 of Texas’ runs in an 8-3 defeat…it was his 4th career multi-homer game, 3rd this season (last 2 HR on 5/3 vs. ARI)…his 4 career multi-HR games (3-2023, 1-2022) are the most ever by a Rangers rookie, surpassing previous high of 3 done by Adolis García in 2021 and Dave Hostetler in 1982.
ALSO: Jung leads ML rookies with 19 HR in 2023, the 2ndmost HR ever by a Texas rookie prior to the All-Star break (22-Adolis García in 2021)…his 19 HR are the T2nd-most ever by any rookie third baseman before the break behind only CLE’s Al Rosen in 1950 (25 HR), per STATS LLC.
- Jung also ranks among A.L. rookies this season in H (1st, 95), RBI (1st, 56), R (1st, 62), TB (1st, 173), XBH (1st, 39), SLG (1st, .503), BA (2nd, .276), and OPS (2nd, .829).
ON THE OFFENSIVE: The Rangers enter today’s first “half” finale leading MLB with 529 runs scored this season, the 2ndmost runs through the first 90 G of a campaign in WSH/TEX franchise history (536-1998) and the most by any MLB team thru 90 G since the 2017 Houston Astros (537)…529 runs before the All-Star break already rank 2nd in club history (538 R, 96 G in 2008) and are 12th-most by any MLB club since the Midsummer Classic’s inception in 1933.
- The 2023 Rangers could finish as one of the top-10 highest-scoring pre-All-Star break offenses of all-time (beg. 1933), as they are just one run shy of matching the 2018 Boston Red Sox and 2001 Seattle Mariners (both w/ 530 R) for 10th place with one game left to play in the first “half”.
STREAKS SNAPPED: Corey Seager yesterday went 0-for-4 to snap his career-best 26-game on-base streak (beg. 6/10) and season-best 10-game hitting streak…he is still one of 3 MLB batters (min. 250 PA) with an OPS of 1.000+ in 2023: 1.050-Shohei Ohtani, 1.035-Seager, 1.001-Ronald Acuña Jr.
- That currently stands as the 5th-highest OPS figure ever produced by a Ranger with at least 250 PA before the All-Star break: 1.100-Iván Rodríguez in 2000, 1.062-Rafael Palmeiro in 1999, 1.060-Joey Gallo in 2019, 1.049-Milton Bradley in 2008, 1.035-Corey Seager in 2023.
LOWE MAN WINS: Nathaniel Lowe went 2-for-4 with a double yesterday, and has now reached base via hit, walk, or hit by pitch a team-high 147 times in 2023, 2nd-most in A.L. to LAA’s Shohei Ohtani (152)…marks the T4th-most times on base via H/BB/HBP in the first “half” of a season by Texas first baseman behind only Will Clark in 1994 (164), Rafael Palmeiro in 1999 (158), and Prince Fielder in 2015 (152).
GREAT DANE: Although he is currently just shy of qualifier status, Dane Dunning enters today’s scheduled start ranked 3rd among A.L. pitchers (min. 85.0 IP) in ERA: HOU’s Framber Valdez (2.51), TB’s Shane McClanahan (2.53), Dunning (2.61)…Dunning has allowed just 5 HR this season, as 0.52 HR/9 figure is 2nd-lowest in A.L. (min. 85.0 IP) to MIN’s Sonny Gray (0.27)…the right-hander was originally drafted by Washington in the 1st round (29th overall) of the 2016 MLB Draft, though this will be his 1st career app. at Nationals Park.
IN THE DAYLIGHT: The Rangers have gone 23-13 (.639) in day games this season, the 3rd-best daytime record in MLB (24-9, .727-NYY, 22-9, .710-ATL)…despite the overall success, club has lost 3 of 4 and 6 of last 8 day tilts.
- TEX leads MLB in R (252) and R/G (7.00) in day games this season…club is batting .300/.365/.505/.870 (388-1292) with 54 HR (1.5 HR/G) in daytime starts vs. .257/.325/.432/.758 (481-1874) with 70 HR (1.3 HR/G) in night contests.
WHEN I LOOK AT THE TELEVISION: Today’s game will be carried on Peacock, with Brendan Burke (play-by-play), C.J. Nitkowksi (color analyst), and Kevin Frandsen (color analyst) on the call…this is the 1st time the Rangers have ever been featured on a Sunday afternoon Peacock broadcast.
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER – #33 Dane Dunning, RHP (8-1, 2.61)
TODAY: The 28-year-old right-hander is scheduled to make his 12th start/20th appearance of the season in today’s first “half” finale in D.C…his 2.61 ERA (25 ER/86.1 IP) is 3rd-lowest in A.L. and 6th-lowest in MLB among pitchers with 85.0+ IP this season…remains just shy of qualifying for league leader status, although he has briefly qualified after his past 2 starts…career-high 8 wins are T6th in A.L., and 12 GIDP’s induced rank T3rd-most…has made 11 starts since joining the rotation on 5/5, going 6-1, 2.86 (21 ER/66.0 IP) with 17 BB/44 SO… has produced 4 straight quality starts (3-0, 2.28, 7 ER/27.2 IP)…has allowed just 5 HR this season, as 0.52 HR/9 figure is 2nd-lowest in A.L. (min. 85.0 IP) to MIN’s Sonny Gray (0.27)…will pitch on regular 4 days’ rest after earning win in Rangers’ road trip opener on Tues. at BOS (see below)…just 21 of 73 hits allowed this season have gone for extra bases (5 HR, 15 2B, 1 3B), and .331 opp. SLG figure is 3rd-lowest in A.L. (min. 85.0+ IP) while .620 opp. OPS is 5th-lowest… established career highs in many categories last season, ranking 2nd on the Texas staff in starts (29), innings (153.1), and strikeouts (137)…missed time in 2022 for a pair of IL stints: 7/11-25/22 (right ankle impingement) and 9/27/22-end of season (right hip surgery)…had season-ending surgery on 9/26/22 for a right hip labral repair, with the surgery performed by Dr. William Robertson in Arlington…is 16-19 with a 4.07 ERA (159 ER/351.1 IP) for the Rangers over the last 3 seasons (2021-23) since being acquired from the Chicago White Sox in a 3-player trade involving RHP Lance Lynn on 12/8/20…pitched 3 seasons at the University of Florida, helping the Gators to College World Series appearances in both 2015 and 2016…Texas is 7-4 in his 11 starts in 2023.
LAST START: Earned win in Rangers’ Independence Day road trip opener on Tues. at BOS (6.0 IP, 6 H, R, BB, 4 SO, 89 pitches/61 strikes)…finished outing w/ 5.0 SHO IP after a triple to lead off the game…allowed hits in each of final 4 innings of work, but most pitches in one frame was 18 (in 3rd)…exited with a 6-1 lead after Rangers scored twice in the 7th.
VS. WASHINGTON: Only career game/start vs. Nats came on 6/24/22 at Globe Life Field (ND, 6.0 IP, 7 H, 1 R-ER, 1 BB, 4 SO, 0 HR, 91 pitches/59 strikes)… TEX offense was shut down by Paolo Espino (5.1 IP, 1 R-ER) in a 2-1 loss, as Rangers’ Dennis Santana permitted the decisive run in the 8th.
- Dunning was originally drafted and signed by Washington, picked in 1st round (29th overall) of 2016 MLB Draft out of the U. of Florida…made 8 starts for WSH affiliates in 2016 before he was traded to CWS on 12/7/16 with Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez for Adam Eaton…today will be his 1st career Major League appearance at Natoinals Park.
AS A STARTER: Has gone 6-1, 2.86 (21 ER/66.0 IP) in his 11 starts for TEX in 2023, spanning his last 11 outings…has exited 9 of 11 starts with the Rangers holding a lead…made 8 straight relief app. to open the year, but a majority of Dunning’s Major League appearances (72 of 82) have come as a starter…he owns a lifetime 17-19 record and 4.16 ERA (170 ER/368.0 IP) in those 72 career starts, with opponents batting .259/.332/.410/.742 (365-1407)…he went 4-8, 4.46 ERA (76 ER/153.1 IP) in 29 starts for Texas in 2022, registering an A.L.-high 17 no-decisions…Dunning’s 65 starts in a Texas uniform over the last 3 seasons (beg. 2021) are the most among Rangers.
ON THE ROAD: Dunning has seen fairly even home/road splits in 2023: 5-0, 2.89 in 9 G/5 GS at home; 3-1, 2.32 in 10 G/6 GS on the road…is 2-1, 2.48 (9 ER/32.2 IP) in his 6 road starts this season…this will be 3rd time in last 4 starts to pitch on road…on 6/23 at NYY (7.0 IP, 2 R-ER), took no decision despite exiting in line for the victory in Rangers’ 4-2, 10-inning win…has allowed one or 2 R in 5 of 6 road starts, 3 R-or-less in all 6 starts…has performed significantly better at home (15-5, 3.31 ERA in 43 G/38 GS) than on the road (4-14, 4.92 ERA in 39 G/34 GS) in his Major League career.
- Earned win on 5/10 at SEA (6.0 IP, 2 R-ER), ending span in which he had gone winless in 27 consecutive road starts with CWS and TEX, the 2nd-longest winless road span as a starter in modern era behind only COL’s Scott Elarton (29, 2001- 05)…drought set a franchise record, surpassing Pete Broberg in 1972-73 (15).
2023: Opponents have batted .230/.289/.331/.620 (73-317) with 21 extra-base hits (5 HR, 15 2B, 1 3B), incl. opp. BA’s of .242 (32-132) vs. LHB and .222 (41- 185) vs. RHB…opp. BA by time thru the order: 1st (.207, 30-145), 2nd (.227, 25-110), 3rd (.271, 16-59), 4th (.667, 2-3)…8 wins are 2nd-most on club (10-Eovaldi)…20.1 relief innings still rank 7th for TEX…has 3 relief app. of 3.0+ SHO IP…earned win on 4/17 at KC (4.1 SHO IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 5 SO), as he and Jacob deGrom (4.0 SHO IP) became just the 2nd Rangers duo in the last 40 years (beg. 1984) to each have at least 4.0 SHO IP in the same game (also 5.0-Kameron Loe, 4.0-C.J. Wilson on 8/26/05 vs. MIN)…his win on 5/10 at SEA ended a span in which he had gone winless in 27 consecutive road starts with CWS and TEX, the 2nd-longest winless road span as a starter in modern era behind only COL’s Scott Elarton (29 from 2001-05).
SO CLOSE: Earmed win in Rangers’ 10-2 victory on 6/28 vs. DET (W, 8.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R-ER, 0 BB, 10 SO, 1 HR, 100 pitches/75 strikes)…was within one out of a CG shutout, but gave up a 2-R HR after Nathaniel Lowe could not make a play on a popup with 2 outs in the 9th…still set a career high for innings and matched his career best with 10 SO (also 5/9/21 vs. SEA)…his 78 game score was 2nd-highest of his career (80 game score on 8/6/22 vs. CWS – 7.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R).
WASHINGTON NATIONALS NOTES:
ONE MORE AND THEN WE’LL LEAVE
The Washington Nationals close out the season’s first “half” with a 12:05 p.m. tilt against the Texas Rangers…With a win today, the Nationals would claim their first series victory at home since May 19-21 vs. Detroit.
- Washington beat Texas, 8-3, on Saturday behind home runs by Jeimer Candelario (3-run), Joey Meneses (solo) and Alex Call (solo) as well as a “little league” home run by Luis García (Triple, E4)…Jake Irvin (5.0 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, SO) came back after the rain delay to earn his second win of the season.
- This series marks Texas’ first visit to Washington D.C. since 2017 and fourth visit overall since the expansion Washington Senators left D.C. to become the Texas Rangers after the 1971 season…On Sept. 30, 1971, the 10,852nd — and seemingly final — game played in Washington ended in a forfeit win for the New York Yankees…The Senators led, 7-5, with two outs in the top of the ninth when fans stormed the field, forcing umpires to call the game…The second incarnation of the Senators went 740-1032-1 in 10 seasons in Washington, D.C. (1962-71).
DRAFT DAY
The 2023 First-Year Player Draft starts on Sunday night, with the Nationals holding the second overall pick in the first round and the first pick in the second round (No. 40 overall)…This marks the highest the Nationals have drafted since 2010…The Draft will continue with rounds 3-10 on Monday and rounds 11-20 will take place on Tuesday.
STREAKIN’ WIITH SIX
The Nationals have recorded at least six hits in 51 consecutive games since May 13 vs. New York (NL)…It is the longest streak in franchise (MON/WSH) history and is tied for the fourth-longest streak (during a single season) since 1995…Only the 1999 Seattle Mariners (54), 1996 Milwaukee Brewers (53) and 1995 San Diego Padres (52) have recorded longer streaks since 1995.
LEADING MAN
CJ Abrams is 19-for-58 (.328) with a .391 on-base percentage (4 BB, 2 HBP) and a .500 slugging percentage (5 2B, 3B, HR) over his last 17 games…He’s hit safely in 11 of the 17 and has recorded seven multi-hit games.
- Abrams has reached base safely in four of eight plate appearances (3 H, BB, 2 SB) since being placed in the leadoff spot on Friday.
WOULD’VE / COULD’VE / SHOULD’VE
Lane Thomas made a compelling case to be named to his first AllStar game…See box to the right.
- He ranks in the entire National League in hits (4th, 106), average (5th, .304), doubles (T6th, 23) and runs (T9th, 60).
- He has a hit in 22 of his last 25 games, going .363/.391/.608 with 10 doubles, five home runs, 18 RBI, four walks, two stolen bases and 18 runs scored.
- In his last 14 games, he is 22-for-59 (.373) with four doubles, two home runs and 11 RBI.
WOULD’VE / COULD’VE / SHOULD’VE PT. 2
Jeimer Candelario also made a compelling case to be named to his first All-Star Game…See box to the right.
- He is second in the National League with 27 doubles and seventh with 42 extra-base hits.
- He has hit safely in 13 of 14 and 18 of his last 21 games, going .313/.382/.625 with 10 doubles, five homers and 13 RBI during the 21-game stretch.
BULLPENING
Some notes on Ricky Bones’ relievers as of late:
- Kyle Finnegan has four holds and has pitched to a 0.73 ERA (1 ER/12.1 IP) with a .175 opponents average (7-for-40) in his last 10 appearances.
- Hunter Harvey is 5-for-5 in save opportunities and has allowed just three hits (.115 opp. AVG) in 7.2 innings over his last eight outings….He has nine strikeouts against just one walk over this span.
- Mason Thompson has seven holds and a 1.93 ERA (3 ER/14.0 IP) over his last 14 games.
- Hitters are 6-for-57 (.105) against Jordan Weems over his last 12 outings…The .105 average since June 10 is the lowest by any Major League pitcher with at least 17.0 innings.
STARTING PITCHER – #46 PATRICK CORBIN
Left-handed pitcher signed a six-year contract with the Nationals on Dec. 7, 2018…Was the winning pitcher in Game 7 of the 2019 World Series…Is a two-time National League All-Star (2018, 2013)… Has started at least 30 games for five consecutive full seasons (2017-19, 2021-22), joining Gerrit Cole as the only pitchers since 2017 to accomplish the feat.
LAST START
Worked 5.0 innings, allowed six earned runs on 10 hits, walked three and struck out two hitters on July 4 against Cincinnati…He took the loss in the Nationals’ 8-4 defeat.
vs. TEXAS
Has faced the Rangers once in his career…He allowed three earned runs on six hits and struck out seven hitters in 7.0 innings of work on August 14, 2018 as a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
THE SLIDE PIECE
Corbin’s signature slider has induced 88 swings and misses, fifth-most of any left-handed pitcher behind Clayton Kershaw (151), Reid Detmers (120), Jesus Luzardo (115) and Braxton Garrett (97).
- The slider ranks 12th among MLB sliders with a .205 opponents’ average (min. 100 PA).
DEUCES WILD
Corbin allowed exactly two earned runs in four starts from May 4 to May 20…He went 2-1 with a 2.88 ERA (8 ER/25.0 IP) with 13 strikeouts and one walk during this stretch.
1,500 STRIKEOUTS
With a strikeout of Jonathan Schoop on May 20 vs. Detroit, Corbin recorded his 1,500th career strikeout…He became the fourth Nationals pitcher to record 1,500 strikeouts in a Nationals uniform, joining Stephen Strasburg (2019), Gio Gonzalez (2017) and Max Scherzer (2015) per the Elias Sports Bureau.
- Corbin ranks 18th among active pitchers with 1,534 strikeouts, behind Carlos Carrasco (1,550)…He is one of 230 players in baseball history with at least 1,500 strikeouts.
APPRECIATE THE SUPPORT, FELLAS
Since joining the Nationals in 2019, Corbin is 30-4 with a 2.80 ERA in 38 starts when he throws at least 6.0 innings and receives at least three runs of support…The Nationals are 35-4 in those games.
