TEXAS RANGERS NOTES:
WINS AND LOSSES: Texas lost to the A’s in last game on Wed., 2-0, and club has a 2-1 record on this 6-G, 7-day road trip to OAK (2-1) and SF (3 G)…the loss Wed. at OAK snapped Rangers’ season-best 8-G win streak (8/1-8), longest for Texas since going 10-0, 5/9-19/17…Rangers are still A.L.-best 8-1 (.889) in August (see separate note at right)… have gone 9-6 in last 15 G and 10-8 in last 18 G since a 6-G win streak (7/14-19) out of the break…team is 16-8 (.667) in the 2nd “half”, 3rd-best in MLB (LAD/SEA are both 17-8, .680), and 16 wins are T5th in MLB (17-BAL/CHC/LAD/SEA, 16-TEX/HOU/PHI)…TEX is 17-10 in last 27, 18-14 in last 32 G, and 19-16 in last 35 G…team was 12-19 over a 31-G span from 6/7-7/9 to end the 1st “half”, a stretch which came after club reached the 20-over mark for 1st time on 6/6 (40-20)… TEX is 54-36 in last 90 G, 58-41 in last 99 G and 63-43 last 106 G (beg. 4/9).
- At 68-47 (.591), TEX owns the 2nd-best record in the A.L. and 4th-best in MLB (see below)…68 wins rank 3rd in A.L. and T4th-most in MLB (see below).
- The 68-47 mark ties the best 115-G start to a season in Washington/Texas franchise history (see chart below).
BEST RECORDS AND MOST WINS IN MLB, 2023
Win Pct. Team W-L Wins Team
.637 Atlanta 72-41 72 ATL
.617 Baltimore 71-44 71 BAL
.596 Los Angeles-NL 68-46 69 TB
.591 Texas 68-47 68 TEX/LAD
WITH A WIN TONIGHT, Texas would:
- Register the best 116-game record in franchise history at 69-47 (see chart above).
- Match season high point at 22 games above .500 (68-46 after win Tues. at OAK).
- Post 9 wins in a 10-G span for 1st time since 2017 (9-1, 5/11-21/17).
STANDINGS: Texas owns a 2.5-game lead in A.L. West over 2nd-place HOU, this after lead had dropped to 2.0 G on Wed…held leads of 2.0+ G in the division for 63 consecutive days from 5/23-7/24 before it dropped to 0.5 G for 3 straight days 7/31-8/2…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 for 96 straight, 103 of 104, and 116 of the last 118 days beg. 4/14.
- TEX has been alone or tied atop the division for 132 of the season’s first 133 days (exception: 4/8).
SERIES STUFF: TEX has won 3 straight series, this after 3 straight series losses…team had lost 5 straight road series before taking 2 of 3 this week at the Coliseum…Rangers have won all games of a series 8 times in ’23, including 4x since the AS break…club is 5-3-0 in series since break…club is 5-6-0 in last 11 series and 5-7-1 in last 13 series…is 22-13- 2 overall in series this year, going 12-5-2 at home and 10-8-0 on the road…on the road, team is 1-5-0 in last 6 and 2-6-0 in last 8 away series…TEX has won 3 straight series openers, 5-3 in openers since the break
ON THE ROAD: TEX won back-to-back road games Mon./ Tues. for the 1st time since 6/21-23 (2-0)…TEX has lost 4 of 6, 8 of 11, 10 of 14, 12 of 17, and 16 of last 25 away games… club is still 28-27 (.509) on the road for the season, 6th-best away record in the A.L…from 5/6-30, TEX went 13-4 on road.
- Rangers have 3-or-fewer runs in 10 of last 17 away tilts… shut out in 3 of last 17 road games…club’s .747 road OPS is 5th-highest in A.L., but still over 100 points lower than OPS at home (.859).
ROSTER MOVES: Earlier today, the Rangers selected the contract of OF J.P. Martinez from Round Rock (AAA) and placed OF Travis Jankowski on the MLB Paternity Leave
List…Martinez (#50) will seek to become the 2nd TEX rookie to make a ML debut on this trip (also INF Jonathan Ornelas).
AUGUST AND EVERYTHING AFTER: Despite the loss Wed. at OAK, the Rangers are still 8-1 (.889) in August, best in the A.L. and 2nd-best in MLB to LAD (9-1, .900)…the 8-G win streak to open August marked the 1st time the Rangers had ever won the 1st 8 games of a single month…Texas has a MLB-best 2.25 ERA (20 ER/80.0) in 9 G this month…club leads A.L. with 18 HR and a .528 SLG in August, both ranking 3rd-best in MLB this month to CHC (19 HR/.540 SLG) and ATL (17 HR/.548 SLG).
BOCHY’S RETURN: The Rangers’ Bruce Bochy returns to Oracle Park tonight as a manager for the 1st time since his last game as Giants manager in the club’s 2019 season finale (9/29/19 vs. LAD, a 9-0 Giants loss)…this is his 1st game as an opposing manager in this park since serving as Padres manager on 9/10/06 in a 10-2 win for San Diego…some notes on Bochy, who is in his 26th year as a MLB manager:
- His 1052 wins with San Francisco rank 2nd in the Giants’ 141-year franchise history to only Hall of Famer John McGraw (2583 wins)…Bochy was at the helm w/ SF for 4 postseason appearances, 3 World Series championships (2010- 12-14) and a pair of N.L. West titles (2010 and 2012).
- Bochy’s 607 wins as a manager in the City of San Francisco are the most in the city’s MLB history (1958-2023) – covering Seals Stadium/Candlestick/Oracle…Dusty Baker is 2nd w/ 479, credit Elias Sports Bureau.
- He is the all-time leader with 589 wins at Oracle Park (565 w/ SF, 24 w/ SD)…Felipe Alou is 2nd with 188 (credit Elias).
- Bochy is one of 10 managers in MLB history to win at least 3 World Series titles, one of 7 to do it with one franchise, one of only 3 to do it with a franchise other than the Yankees: Connie Mack (5x w/ Phi. A’s), Walter Alston (5x w/ Brooklyn/ LA Dodgers), and Bochy (3x w/ SF)
- Bochy’s 2071 career wins as manager rank 10th all-time, 2nd among active skippers behind only HOU’s Dusty Baker (2159)…Bochy and Baker are 2 of 12 managers all-time with 2000+ wins, the other 10 are all in the Hall of Fame.
BLANKED: Texas was shut out on Wed. at OAK for an 8th time this season, with 5 of the 8 instances and each of the last 3 coming on the road…only other SHO against TEX since the break was 7/29 at SD…in 5 of Rangers’ 8 SHO, the opposition has scored only one or 2 runs.
STARTING STRONG: Wednesday (Jodran Montgomery start) was the 7th time over the 1st 9 G in August for the Rangers to receive a quality start…the 7 quality starts in August are more than the club’s total for the entire month of July (5), and account for 7 of the staff’s 9 QS since the AS break… Rangers’ MLB-high 7 QS in Aug. have aided in starters’ 2.75 ERA (17 ER/55.2 IP) this month, 3rd in MLB (LAD-2.29, CLE2.61).
LEAN ON SEAGS: Texas lost on Wed. at OAK without Corey Seager in the lineup…TEX is 12-1 in Corey Seager’s 13 G since the AS break, only loss on 7/21 vs. LAD, game in which he injured his thumb after hitting a HR and double…Seager in those 13 G: .353/.411/.863/1.273 (18-51), 7 HR, 5 2B, 14 RBI, 13 R…Seager ranks among A.L. leaders in doubles (4th, 31) and RBI (T15th, 66) despite playing in just 72 G.
VS. SAN FRANCISCO: Texas is 14-24 all-time vs. SF, losing 3 of 4 and 7 of 9, 8-20 since 2000…teams last played in 2021 (TEX was 0-2 in SF; 1-1 at GLF)…TEX is 6-19 all-time in SF, 2-3 at Candlestick and 4-16 at Oracle Park…TEX is 1-7-1 in 9 all-time road series vs. SF (lone win: 2-1, 6/8-10/12)…club lost WS Games 1 and 2 at Oracle in 2010, the 1st World Series games in franchise history
TONIGHT’S STARTING PITCHER – #22 Jon Gray, RHP (7-5, 3.88)
TONIGHT: The 31-year-old right-hander is set to make his 21st start and appearance of the season in tonight’s series opener in SF…earned win in last start, a 9-8 Texas win on Sat. vs. MIA (5.1 IP, 7 H, 5 R-ER)…was making 1st start in 11 days, as he has fallen out of qualifying status…is 1-2, 6.34 (23 ER/32.2 IP) last 6 starts beg. 6/30 with 14 BB/26 SO to raise season ERA from 2.89 to 3.88…is still 6-4, 3.69 (34 ER/83.0 IP) last 14 starts beg. 5/8 to drop from 4.40…exited early from start on 7/19 vs. TB (ND, 4.1 SHO IP) after being struck on left leg by comebacker in 5th inn. (Yandy Díaz)…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 Texas, the righthander 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 3rd overall selection by Colorado in 2013 MLB Draft after pitching 2 seasons at the U. of Oklahoma… is a native of the Oklahoma City area, growing up in Chandler…TEX is 11-9 in his 20 starts in 2023.
SCORING CHANGE: MLB today announced a scoring change from Gray’s last start on Sat., giving an infield hit to Jon Berti in the 4th inning (originally ruled an error on Marcus Semien)…the change puts 2 ER on Gray’s ledger for the game, raising his ERA to 3.88…all affected statistics in today’s game notes should reflect this scoring change.
LAST START: Worked through some tough luck to earn win in last start, a 9-8 Texas win on Sat. vs. MIA (5.1 IP, 7 H, 5 R-ER, 2 BB, 6 SO, 0 HR, 77 pitches/54 strikes)…issued 2 BB in a 21-pitch 1st inning…allowed 4 hits in a 3-R 3rd and then 2 R in the 4th, but whiffed 3 of final 4 BF to finish his day…was making 1st
start in 11 days, a product of trade acquisitions at the deadline and some residual effects from being struck in the leg with a line drive in his start on 7/19 vs. TB.
VS. SAN FRANCISCO: Will be facing Giants for 1st time as a Ranger…s 2-8, 5.96 (51 ER/77.0 IP) in 16 G/GS vs. SF in his career, including 1-4, 4.05 (18 ER/40.0 IP) in 8 G/GS at Oracle Park…Rockies scored more than 2 runs of support in 2 of his 8 starts in SF…last 3 starts at Oracle since 2019: 1-2, 2.12 (4 ER/17.0 IP), 6 BB/17 SO, 2 quality starts.
ON THE ROAD: Has seen far better results in 9 starts on the road (4-2, 3.14 ERA) than in 9 starts at home (3-3, 4.50 ERA) this season…among A.L. pitchers with at least 50.0 IP on the road in 2023, Gray’s 3.14 road ERA (18 ER/51.2 IP) is 7th-lowest in the A.L…has allowed one-or-zero runs in 4 of his last 6 road outings, going 3-2, 2.84 ERA (12 ER/38.0 IP) in that span.
HELP ME, PLEASE: Gray had 7 runs of support to earn the win on Sat. vs. MIA, this after he had received a total of 16 runs in support from the Rangers’ offense over his previous 9 starts (2.84 RSA)…had no run support over 3 straight outings, 6/7-24…still has a 5.38 RSA for the season, 16th-best in the A.L.
- Gray has suffered a pair of 1-0 losses on solo HR this season (6/7 vs. STL and 6/24 at NYY)…the only other starting pitcher in TEX history to endure multiple 1-0 losses in a single season on a solo HR was Yu Darvish (twice in 2013)…before Gray this season, the only MLB pitchers to pull the trick since Darvish both came in 2016: SF’s Madison Bumgarner & STL’s Michael Wacha (2 each).
COMPLETE GAME: Was tough-luck loser in start on 6/7 vs. STL, a 1-0 Rangers defeat (CG, 9.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R-ER, 0 BB, 12 SO, 1 HR, 100 pitches/76 strikes)… according to Stathead, it marked just the 2nd time in modern MLB history that a pitcher took the loss despite 9+ IP, 12+ SO, 4-or-fewer hits, 1 R allowed, and zero BB…the other instance?: TB’s James Shields on 10/2/12 vs. BAL…the lone run in Gray’s loss to the Cards was a solo HR by Alec Burleson in the 8th inning…it was the 23rd instance of a TEX starter taking a 1-0 loss in a CG, 1st since Matt Harrison on 9/22/12 at SEA…produced 2nd-highest game score of his career (87), trailing only CG SHO on 9/17/16 vs. SD (95 game score).
SCORELESS STREAKS: Has produced 2 longest scoreless streaks of his career since the start of May: 20.0 IP (5/26-6/7) and 17.0 IP (5/8-20)…Gray’s loss on 6/7 vs. STL ended spans in which he won a career-best 5 consecutive starts (5/8-6/2) along with a career-high 6-G win streak (4/9-6/2)…Gray was the 1st Ranger to win 5 consecutive starts since 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.
2023: Has allowed 3-or-fewer runs in 12 of his 20 starts…opp. BA by time thru the lineup: 1st (.241), 2nd (.279), 3rd (.222), 4th (0-4)…number of GS in ’23 by starting catcher: 12-Heim, 6-León, 1-Garver, 1-Hedges…Rangers went 5-0 in his 5 May starts, with Gray going 4-0, 1.95 (7 ER/32.1 IP) in 5 GS for the month, 2nd-lowest monthly ERA of his career (min. 4 GS) to only 1.89 over 5 G/GS in July 2016…recorded 1,000th career strikeout on 4/26 at CIN (Spencer Steer)… 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…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…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 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 vs. the team that drafted him.
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS NOTES:
TONIGHT’S GAME: SF enjoyed an off day yesterday after wrapping up a five game road trip to Oakland (0-2) and Los Angeles-AL (1-2)…the Giants have not won a road series since sweeping a three-game set from the Pirates (July 14-16)… the Giants look to get back on track as they open up a six-game homestand against the Rangers (tonight-Sunday) and Tampa Bay (Monday-Wednesday).
WELCOME BACK, BOCH: Tonight, the Giants will recognize former manager Bruce Bochy with a video tribute that will run during the mid-3rd break…Bochy guided the Giants to three World Series titles in 2010, 2012 and 2014…the Giants’ championship in 2010 was their first in San Francisco history (since 1958) and their first overall since the New York Giants won in 1954…overall, Bochy posted 1,052 wins with San Francisco, the second-most managerial wins by a Giants manager behind Hall of Famer John McGraw.
LONE RANGERS: Including a pair of wins in the 2010 World Series, the Giants are an astounding 21-6 at home against the Rangers all-time…overall, the Giants are 28-15 (.651) against the Rangers, their second-best record against any AL opponent (17-5, .773 vs. Cleveland) (Stats, LLC).
MLB, Best Home Record vs. Any Interleague Opponent – All-Time (reg & post, minimum 20 games)
Team, Opponent Record W/L%
Giants vs. Rangers 21-6 .778
Athletics vs. Dodgers 16-5 .762
Team, Opponent Record W/L%
Tigers vs. Cardinals 18-7 .720
Red Sox vs. Marlins 19-9 .679
LEAVE NO MAN BEHIND: The Giants have left 10-or-more men on base 24 different times this season…only the Texas Rangers have done so more often (25)…however, the Giants have posted a 15-9 record when doing so, with their 15 such wins the most by any team in MLB (Stats, LLC).
OPENING ACT: LHP Scott Alexander will take the mound to start for SF tonight, which will make it the Giants’ third-straight bullpen game…Alexander also started on Tuesday in Anaheim and allowed three runs on three hits without recording an out… SF is 15-7 when using an opener…SF’s 45 games with their bullpen throwing 5.0 or more innings (as a group) are the most by any Giants team in a single season since moving in 1958…the 45 such games this year are most in MLB.
FEATURING THE BULLPEN:RHP Ross Stripling has pitched well over his last two outings, posting a 1.86 ERA (2er, 9.2ip) and a 0.72 WHIP…his last appearance came on August 5 at Oakland, where he started and allowed one run on three hits with seven strikeouts over 5.1 innings of work…he’s faced 121 consecutive batters without allowing a walk…his last walk allowed came to Francisco Lindor on July 2 against the Mets….Stripling has made six appearances out of the bullpen this year where he’s posted a 6.00 ERA (12er, 18.0ip)…his season-high for innings pitched out of the ‘pen is 4.1 on July 30 vs. Boston.
BEST SLIDES OF 2023: IF LaMonte Wade has done great against sliders this season…his .477 OBP versus sliders is the highest figure in the Majors, while his .371 (13-for-35) average ranks fifth in MLB (min. 40 PA).
LOTS OF NEW FACES: SF is in a four-series stretch against AL opponents (at Oakland, at the Angels, vs. Texas and vs. Tampa Bay)…the Giants are 16-21 in Interleague play so far this season.
THE ONE WHERE HE GETS ON BASE…AGAIN: IF Wilmer Flores is on a career-best 20 game on-base streak, surpassing his previous high set in 2018 with New York-NL…the streak is the longest active in MLB…Flores is batting .389 (28×72) with 13 runs, seven doubles, seven home runs, 15 RBI and a 1.222 OPS in that span…Flores’ batting average has increased from .229 last season up to .307 this year…his +.078 increase in batting average ranks as the third-largest increase in the Majors from
2022-2023.
MLB, Largest Increase in Batting Avg. – 2022 → 2023 (minimum 250 PA each season) (Stats, LLC)
Cody Bellinger, LAD-ChC +.117
Corey Seager, Tex +.108
Wilmer Flores, SF +.078
Ronald Acuna Jr., Atl +.074
Geraldo Perdomo, Ari +.072
HOME SWEET HOME: The Giants have won nine of their last 11 games on The Shores of McCovey Cove and have posted a 33-24 record overall all at home this year, compared to a 29-29 record on the road, where they have lost 10 of their last 11 games, dating to July 19 at Cincinnati…during that 11 game stretch at Oracle Park, Giants pitchers have posted a 1.83 ERA with a .202 opponents average…however the offense has averaged just 3.36 runs per game over the last 11 games here.
TOUGH STRETCH: The Giants finish the month of August with five series against teams above .500 as they face the Rangers (68-47), Rays (69-48), Braves (72-41) (twice), Phillies (64- 52) and Reds (60-57)…SF has risen to that occasion much of this season, posting a .547 winning % (29-24) against teams currently at or above .500, third-best in MLB…only the Braves (39-23, .629), Orioles(47-37, .560) and Dodgers (31-25, .554) have been better.
THE CALIFORNIANS: The Giants are in the midst of a 3+ week stretch where they don’t leave California, beginning with their season-long nine-game homestand on July 25, continuing with their current five-game road trip at Oakland and LA, and ending with a six-game homestand vs. Texas and Tampa Bay.
STRETCH DRIVE: The Giants Community Fund’s impact now stretches further than ever before, reaching a total of 30,000 youth through their expanded program model…all proceeds will go to support the Junior Giants program…a $50 donation helps equip one Junior Giants member with the uniform and gear needed to play ball.
