ARLINGTON, Texas — The Texas Rangers likely should be meeting the New York Yankees this weekend with a record of 17-7. Instead, after a total bullpen implosion in Cincinnati led to Texas suffering their first series sweep of the year while going 2-4 against two bad teams, the Rangers sit at 14-10 after suffering their first three-game losing streak of the young season.
Needing to pull out of their tailspin the Rangers welcome the Yankees to Arlington, and while at 14-11 they’re not the powerhouse one usually thinks of when Texas plays New York, they’re still formidable despite facing some problems of their own.
Where New York’s coming from
The Yankees might have just won a game in convincing fashion against the Twins, 12-6, but they are coming off two series losses in a row. They lost the first two games to Minnesota and also lost two of three to division rival Toronto last week. Offense has been a large part of why the boys from the Bronx aren’t Bombing.
Taking out the 12-run outburst in the win on Wednesday, the Yankees scored eight runs total in the five games before that. For the year, New York is slashing .232/.308/.392; that average puts them in the bottom 10 of all of baseball. They’re also averaging just over four runs per game. Comparatively, the Rangers and Tampa Bay Rays, at the top of MLB in runs scored, are averaging right around 6.5 runs per game.
New York also survived a scare on Wednesday when franchise star Aaron Judge slid awkwardly into third base and hurried off the field. This amounted to no more than a bit of soreness as Judge finished out the game in style, going 3-for-4 on the day with 3 RBIs and a run scored.
Judge, who has played in every game for the Yanks thus far, could see a game off during the series in Texas. Then again, the performance at the plate for the 2022 AL MVP was an encouraging sign for New York as he had been floundering for a bit, going just 7-for-42 dating back to mid-April. Judge could stay in the lineup to keep his bat going after the great game on his birthday.
The Yankees are also going into the series in Texas without a few key players – Harrison Bader is on track to return to the New York lineup after the team leaves Texas following recuperation from a strained left oblique. Starter Luis Severino is on the IL with a lat muscle strain and won’t join the team until late May.
One of the Rangers possible free agent targets this past winter, starting pitcher Carlos Rodon, has yet to throw a pitch for the Yankees as he landed on the IL with a forearm strain and back tightness to start the season. Reliever Jonathan Loaisiga is out with elbow inflammation, and former MVP Josh Donaldson will be out with a strained hamstring.
Things to watch for
With a litany of injuries, the Yankees needed some support. To that end, the Rangers will see some familiar, albeit clean-shaven, faces.
Former Ranger Isiah Kiner-Falefa remains with the Yankees in a super-utility role. Kiner-Falefa has been seeing time in center field after a less-than-impressive performance as the team’s everyday shortstop (where he won a Gold Glove with the Rangers). Kiner-Falefa, for the year, is hitting .176/.243/.176 in just 16 games.
Willie Calhoun, who fell out of favor in Texas after coming from Los Angeles in the Yu Darvish trade, has joined New York to help their injury-riddled outfield. Calhoun signed as a free agent with the Yankees in January and did not start the season with the team. In just eight games with New York, he’s hitting .192/.250/.231.
Catcher Jose Trevino, who was traded to the Yankees just before the start of the 2022 season, earned his first All-Star nomination and his first Gold Glove with New York last year. Trevino, who caught games for Texas in 2018-2021, has always been a defense first catcher with a bat that could be deemed as serviceable. So far, Trevino is slashing .212/.241/.308 with a homer and seven RBI.
History makers
Game 25, 7:05 PM CT: RHP Gerrit Cole (4-0, 0.79 ERA) vs LHP Andrew Heaney (2-1, 4.34 ERA)
Game 26, 7:05 PM CT: RHP Clarke Schmidt (0-2, 6.30 ERA) vs RHP Jacob deGrom (2-0, 3.04 ERA)
Game 27, 6:35 PM CT: RHP Jhony Brito (2-2, 6.11 ERA) vs. RHP Nathan Eovaldi (2-2, 5.20 ERA)
Game 28, 1:35 PM CT: LHP Nestor Cortes (3-1, 3.49 ERA) vs LHP Martin Perez (3-1, 2.60 ERA)
The opener of the series will be a duel between a couple of pitchers who wrote their names in their respective team’s history books in April. Texas will send Andrew Heaney to face the Yankees’ Gerrit Cole. Heaney struck out nine in a row on April 10th against the Kansas City Royals. With that, he passed Nolan Ryan for most consecutive strikeouts in a single game by a Ranger.
Gerrit Cole, for his part, heads into the final start of April with a 0.79 ERA, which is the third lowest by a Yankee through their first five starts. The five-time All-Star has been exceptional this year for New York, allowing just three runs all year, zero home runs and sporting a 3.6 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
The other arms that will pitch for the Yankees in this series include Clarke Schmidt, Jhony Brito and the mustachioed Nestor Cortes in the finale.
Schmidt, who had his first full season with the Yankees last year, has struggled so far this year. The former first-rounder sports an 0-2 record and has given up 17 runs, six homers and six walks while averaging five allowed hits per start. He hasn’t yet made it out of the sixth inning, with his most recent effort against Toronto being his closest shot, going 5 ⅔. He’ll oppose Jacob deGrom on Friday night.
Likewise, Jhony Brito has struggled this year. Brito is in his first year in the majors and, while his first two outings were stellar performances, the last three have been anything but with 11 runs allowed in just 7 ⅔ innings pitched. Brito goes against Nathan Eovaldi on Saturday.
2022 All-Star Cortes has been a constant for the Yankees, averaging just over five innings per outing, with his best performance coming earlier this month against the Twins in a seven-inning, two-run effort. Cortes struggled in his last outing, also against Minnesota, but gutted through five innings while giving up four runs in a New York loss. Cortes will face off against Martin Perez in the afternoon game on Sunday.
It’s possible that Texas let their guard down against a team like Cincinnati. If iron sharpens iron, then these two teams should bring out the best in each other. Both clubs are facing struggles of their own – the Yankees with their offense, the Rangers with their bullpen.
The Yankees have a much steeper hill to climb, however, with three teams ahead of them in the AL East, while Texas remains one game ahead of Houston in the AL West.
Do you see the Rangers padding their division lead in Cincy this week? Share your predictions with Matt on Twitter @FisherWritesMLB.
