ARLINGTON, Texas — From one team hovering around .500 to another, the Texas Rangers usher the Detroit Tigers out from a series loss to start the week and welcome in the San Francisco Giants where a series win will even up the homestand.
Yes, much will be made of Bruce Bochy facing off against the team where he spent so much of his Hall of Fame Managerial career – but that’s in the past. What’s ahead of the Rangers now is the season’s final 100 games and games to make up against the Seattle Mariners in the American League West.
There are also six teams ahead of Texas in the Wild Card race. But the most pressing issue will be playing good baseball against the Giants over the next three days while figuring out how much time Corey Seager will miss after sustaining an injury and exiting Wednesday’s finale against Detroit.
San Francisco Giants (30-33, 3rd Place NL West, 8.5 GB) @ Texas Rangers (30-32, 2nd Place AL West, 5.0 GB)
Previously, for San Francisco…
The Giants are coming off a couple of series losses themselves. Losing to the New York Yankees is nothing to be ashamed of, but the worst part of that series was losing their big free agent acquisition when reigning Cy Young winner Blake Snell came up lame with a groin strain. Following that series, the Giants dropped two of three to the division rival Arizona Diamondbacks, continuing a streak of low-scoring contests until the finale.
Since an eight-run outburst against the Philadelphia Phillies on Memorial Day, the Giants had scored just 18 runs against their opposition in the six games that followed (three runs per game average) until the last game of the Diamondbacks series. In that game, the Giants broke out for nine runs, breaking a four-game losing streak. Scoring runs has only been an issue of late for the Giants, but the real problem has been their pitching.
Both the starters (4.46) and relievers (4.48) rank in the bottom five in ERA in the National League. Despite strong seasons so far by Logan Webb and Jordan Hicks, the rotation has been devastated by injuries to Snell, twice now, and Keaton Winn. Both pitchers, though, were struggling, offsetting the sub-3.00 ERAs by Webb and Hicks.
San Francisco relievers are also giving up more home runs than anyone in the National League and the second most hits. This has resulted in a total run differential of -28, which is not generally a rule for success in baseball and has obviously contributed to their 30-33 mark.
To that end, the Giants have gotten off to a horrible start in June after playing over .500 ball in May. Nevertheless, they’re still just one game back of a Wild Card spot early in the season, but have played themselves into a hole behind the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres in the NL West, sitting 8.5 back in the division.
What to watch for
Game 63, 7:05 PM CT - RHP Logan Webb (4-5, 2.95 ERA) vs. RHP Michael Lorenzen (3-3, 2.96 ERA)
Game 64, 3:05 PM CT - TBD vs. TBD
Game 65, 12:05 PM CT - TBD vs. TBD
Ezequiel Duran will likely get the majority of the playing time in place of Seager, assuming Seager’s injury lands him on the injured list. When Seager exited the finale against the Tigers early with a tight hamstring, Duran stepped into his position in the order and at third base in the field.
Offensively, Duran went 1-for-3 with an RBI and run scored, while also forcing an error that scored a run. Defensively, Duran slid in at the hot corner while Josh Smith took over at shortstop. That could be the usual alignment if Seager misses time. Duran, who filled in more than admirably for Seager last year while he was out with a hamstring injury, is also solid defensively.
With all of the injuries to both pitching staffs, neither has set a starting pitcher for the final two games of this series. The first game, played Friday night, will see Michael Lorenzen take the hill for Texas again.
The 32-year old has been pitching very consistently for the Rangers since a clunker of a start on May 8th. Since then, Lorenzen has posted a sterling ERA of 1.05 with nearly a 2-to-1 strikeout to walk ratio and opponents hitting .155 against him in the last four games. Most recently, against the Marlins, Lorenzen tossed 6 ⅓ innings of shutout ball, striking out seven Fish and walking just two in a victory.
Opposing him is the 27-year old right hander Logan Webb, one of the Giants’ most reliable pitchers so far and recent perennial Cy Young contender. In his previous start against the Yankees, however, Webb allowed four runs over the first three innings before being able to settle down and allow just two hits over the next four innings. Webb also went six innings in each of the previous two starts, giving up just two runs to the Pittsburgh Pirates and none to the Dodgers.
The injury to Snell throws an even bigger wrench in the Giants’ rotation, but for the Rangers, Jon Gray could be making his return this weekend. Like Snell, Gray strained his groin while facing the Phillies late last month. He is eligible to return to action on Sunday in the finale against the Giants. With Gray having successfully completed an extended bullpen session Wednesday evening, he could rejoin the club as soon as he’s eligible.
The Rangers came out of their offensive outburst against the Marlins and faced the best starting pitchers that Detroit had to offer, halting much of their momentum. After another outburst in the finale of the Tigers’ series, Texas will face another solid starting pitcher. The goal is to keep the momentum going and gain some consistency.
Do you think the Rangers will grab the series against Bochy’s former squad? Share your predictions with Matt on X (formerly Twitter) @FisherWritesMLB.
