ARLINGTON, Texas — The Texas Rangers return home after a 2-4 road trip that took them through New York and Boston. It was another section of games that followed the trends of the second half for Texas – poor pitching, poorer hitting and too little, too late production in an attempt to counteract the first two points.
The Rangers’ expectations for the season were to tread water with their pitching until after the All-Star Break and the return of several arms. They kept that strategy through the trade deadline, relying on returning players to augment their lineup. The problem with this strategy was that, as other players returned, different players started to hit the injured list – furthermore, the players that have stayed healthy all season have greatly underperformed.
The plan hasn’t worked but the season rolls on, and just before Texas hits the final month of the season, they perhaps begin to take on the role of spoilers as they face a contender who holds an American League Wild Card spot.
Minnesota Twins (67-53, 2nd Place AL Central, 4.5 GB) @ Texas Rangers (56-65, 3rd Place AL West, 9.5 GB)
Minnesota after the trade deadline
As one of three teams holding a playoff spot from the American League Central, many, including Minnesota Twins players themselves, were expecting several moves from the Twins ownership at the deadline to enhance the team’s chances of a long run in October.
Prior to the end of July, President of Baseball Operations Derek Falvey was very non-committal on the team making any moves to help what is and was already a strong club. As the trade deadline came and went, everyone saw why the Twins were non-committal as they didn’t appear to need much help.
Despite being linked to several starting pitchers in trade discussions – including the Rangers’ own Nathan Eovaldi – the Twins acquired one, singular reliever to help boost the depth of the pitching staff. Minnesota had a small need for pitching depth, as a few key relievers started to get fatigued entering the summer months. They acquired former Blue Jays reliever Trevor Richards. Richards is a multi-inning reliever who has equal success against lefties and righties.
But Falvey has a firm belief in the current iteration of the team; like the Rangers, they will await key players, like Carlos Correa, returning and top prospects joining the team. That faith has been rewarded in the weeks following the deadline so far, as the Twins are coming to Arlington fresh off taking a series from the team behind them in the standings, the Kansas City Royals, after splitting a four-game set with the division-leading Guardians.
The matchups
- Game 122, 7:05 PM CT - RHP Bailey Ober (12-5, 3.52 ERA) vs. LHP Cody Bradford (4-0, 3.60 ERA)
- Game 123, 7:05 PM CT - RHP Simeone Woods Richardson (3-3, 3.78 ERA) vs. LHP Andrew Heaney (4-12, 4.05 ERA)
- Game 124, 6:05 PM CT - RHP David Festa (2-2, 5.20 ERA) vs. TBD
- Game 125, 1:35 PM CT - RHP Pablo Lopez (11-8, 4.67 ERA) vs. TBD
This four-game set between the Twins and Rangers is all lined up on the Minnesota side and somewhat in question for Texas. The Twins start out strong with Bailey Ober, who has been the Twins’ best and most consistent pitcher all year. He’s currently on a four-game winning streak and a nine-game quality start streak. Last time out, Ober earned the win against the Guardians, throwing six innings of shutout ball.
Ober earned the win against the Rangers back in May, giving up just two runs in five innings in the opener of a series that Minnesota won two games to one. He’ll be followed by rookie Simeon Woods Richardson, a Texas native who was a hard-luck loser last time out. He only gave up two runs to the Guardians in seven innings while striking out seven but the Twins could only muster one run of support in the loss.
David Festa takes the ball Saturday, making just his seventh career start. The Twins are relying on Festa to take several steps forward at the Major League level this season. He’s had a bit of an adjustment period since coming up, most recently having an abbreviated outing against Cleveland.
The finale will see Pablo Lopez take the ball. Overall, Lopez has had a nice second half, outside of a couple of outings. He picked up the win against the Royals last time out, throwing six innings and allowing just two earned runs. Lopez faced Texas when the Rangers were up in Minnesota and got roughed up over 4 ⅔ innings, giving up six runs in Minnesota’s lone loss of that series.
Texas will send Cody Bradford back out to the mound, encouraged by his last performance. Facing the Yankees, Bradford gave up just one run in five innings to the notorious Bronx Bombers, and the North Texas native also picked up his first win since coming back from the injured list.
Fellow lefty Andrew Heaney will take the mound on Friday night, coming out of a start in which he gave up three runs in 4 ⅔ innings. Heaney has had good outings interspersed with bad outings in the second half after a fairly steady first half. If all holds, he could be due for a good game against Minnesota.
The final two starters for Texas are up in the air, but Nathan Eovaldi could start one of them. He left his last start in New York after just three innings while diagnosed with tightness in his right side, but he threw a bullpen earlier this week and appears to be on track to make his start. The finale would seem to be Tyler Mahle’s turn in the order but the Rangers are likely waiting to see how Saturday plays out before naming a starter for Sunday.
With a four-homer game in a comeback finale win over the Red Sox to conclude the series in Boston, the Rangers showed signs of life on offense – but it is, as it has been all season, a matter of whether or not they can keep that momentum going.
Do you think the Rangers will open their homestand with a series win against Minnesota? Share your predictions with Matt on Twitter @FisherWritesMLB.
