ARLINGTON, Texas — The Texas Rangers begin their last homestand of the first half against a contending San Diego Padres squad while needing to show some signs of life. Unlike their National League combatants this week, Texas appears to be limping to the first half finish line, not just flush with injuries, but via performance and results as well.
The Rangers finished June the exact same way that they finished May – with an exact losing record. Both months added an 11-16 mark to the team’s ledger, leading them to the third place rut they’re in.
It would be nice to think that Bruce Bochy’s club is riding the high of Wyatt Langford’s historic cycle in a blowout win on Sunday in the finale from Baltimore, but the Rangers haven’t been able to build any momentum off wins this season and they welcome a team to Arlington that is one of the hottest in baseball over the last ten days.
San Diego Padres (46-42, 2nd Place NL West, 7.5 GB) @ Texas Rangers (38-46, 3rd Place AL West, 8.0 GB)
Previously, for San Diego…
San Diego finds themselves right in the thick of a playoff field. Despite trailing in their division by nearly as much as Texas, in second place to the perennial contending Los Angeles Dodgers, their 46-42 record has them in possession of the National League’s second Wild Card spot, but with a slight 0.5 game lead over the rest of the pack.
The Padres also have two of the top vote getters in the National League All-Star voting. One is now on the injured list – Fernando Tatis, Jr. The right fielder who had been riding a hot streak through June, is out with a stress fracture in his leg. The other All-Star leader is Jurickson Profar, a former Rangers top prospect. Profar, who started his career in Texas a decade ago, is in the midst of a career-year, slashing .314/.408/.476 with 11 HR, 55 RBI, 43 walks and already almost 100 hits.
Most recently, the Padres completed a series win over the Boston Red Sox and before that, a sweep of the Washington Nationals that preceded winning 3 of 4 against Milwaukee. Over their last 10 games, San Diego is 8-2 as they’ve turned it on as we’ve reached the summer months.
It took a while for Tatis, Jr. and Manny Machado to get going while Xander Bogaerts is on the injured list, but the Padres’ offensive drivers have only recently started to look like the stars that the team was awaiting. Additionally, San Diego acquired the Miami Hit Machine, Luis Arraez back in early May to bolster the lineup.
The starting rotation is missing Joe Musgrove and former Ranger Yu Darvish as the Padres are among the many teams that are suffering with pitching injuries. The remaining three regular starters have been pitching well, however, but the stop gaps they’ve been using to fill the holes haven’t been consistent enough to help challenge the Dodgers in the NL West.
The Padres do possess one of the game’s best closers in Robert Suarez. In 33 games, Suarez has amassed 20 saves with a 1.09 ERA. After a slow start to the year, and with injuries keeping them from being at full force, the Padres appear hungry for more than just qualifying for a Wild Card spot as the season’s second half approaches.
What to watch for
Game 85, 7:05 p.m. CT - RHP Dylan Cease (7-6, 3.84 ERA) vs. RHP Nathan Eovaldi (4-3, 3.45 ERA)
Game 86, 7:05 p.m. CT - RHP Adam Mazur (1-2, 7.25 ERA) vs. RHP Jon Gray (3-4, 3.77 ERA)
Game 87, 1:35 p.m. CT - RHP Michael King (6-5, 3.61 ERA) vs. RHP Max Scherzer (1-1, 1.74 ERA)
The Padres are a mere two games above .500 on the road, at 22-20, but they are also outscoring their opponents by 33 runs away from Petco. They finished June with a 15-13 record and now face the Rangers with a 9-9 record in interleague play.
Throwing for the Padres will be a couple of their regular starters, Dylan Cease and Michael King, with spot starter Adam Mazur set to pitch on Wednesday. Cease, who had been the topic of trade discussions with Texas last season and into Spring Training before Chicago dealt him to San Diego, started off the season strong but has struggled at times. In his last start, though, Cease shut out the Nationals over seven innings, allowing just one hit.
King, meanwhile, is coming off a quality outing against the Red Sox, a nice rebound from a lackluster outing against the Brewers. King has had a few up-and-down games this season, but his ability to routinely be available for six or more innings has made him a reliable spot in the rotation.
Mazur is one of the pitchers that the Padres have inserted into the rotation to fill in for the injuries. Most recently, the rookie earned a win despite giving up four runs in five innings against the Nationals.
Opposing San Diego this week will be a trio of top flight right-handers with Nathan Eovaldi, Jon Gray and Max Scherzer set to go for Texas. Eovaldi last faced Milwaukee and didn’t pitch terribly, although the line score would say differently. Eovaldi gave up a grand slam en route to a no decision, having lasted seven innings and allowing those five runs with four of them coming on one bad pitch.
Gray could use a bounce back after getting pummeled by the Orioles in his last start. Despite that poor outing, Gray has been one of the bright spots of the first half for Texas. Gray admitted that his pitches had no life on them in the loss. As a result, the Rangers had to endure an 11 run pounding from the Orioles.
Scherzer, meanwhile, is set to make his third start since returning to the rotation. Scherzer has pitched well in both outings so far this season, giving up one run in his first outing back and two in his last outing against Baltimore. Mad Max was the hard luck loser against the Orioles with Texas managing just one run of offense.
With a homestand guiding them to the All-Star break, the Rangers will need to show that they can ride a small bit of momentum. Their own 11-run outburst against the Orioles in Sunday’s finale could have been the catalyst for that, but recent history has shown that the Rangers are hard-pressed to continue their winning ways with a winning streak not yet exceeding four games so far this season.
Do you think the Rangers will start July with a series win against San Diego? Share your predictions with Matt on Twitter @FisherWritesMLB.
