Wednesday newsletter time: Adage rings true as good Mariners pitching stops good Rangers hitting
(AP photo/Stephen Brashear)
The perfect anecdote to a hot-hitting team is good starting pitching.
The Rangers overcame it Monday night at Seattle but couldn’t muster much of anything 24 hours later.
George Kirby dazzled over seven shutout innings, and the Mariners’ bullpen kept the Rangers’ offense locked up in a 5-0 victory at T Mobile Park.
The Rangers have scored two runs in two games but still have a chance to win the series today. They managed to squeak out a 2-1 win Monday even though Logan Gilbert didn’t allow base runner until the seventh inning.
Andrew Heaney allowed four runs Tuesday in 6 2/3 innings. The final two came in the seventh inning, which he hadn’t reached so far this season. He pitched well, or at least better than he did last week in allowing six runs in 4 2/3 innings to Arizona.
That’s good, because Jacob deGrom (elbow inflammation) won’t be coming off the injured list when first eligible Sunday. Manager Bruce Bochy told reporters in Seattle that deGrom, who has resumed playing catch, is likely two or three weeks from returning.
His spot in the rotation comes up again today, and Dane Dunning will again fill the void either as the starter or the bulk pitcher.
It won’t get much easier for Rangers hitters, as Luis Castillo starts the finale, but the Rangers still have a chance to win the series.
Huff it is
The Rangers went ahead and placed outfielder Travis Jankowski on the injured list and replaced him with catcher Sam Huff.
Huff was the most experienced 40-man player in the minors, and the Rangers didn’t want to mess with having to create a 40-man spot for someone else.
This act is nothing new for Huff, who had four stints in the majors last season. His 25 games caught were second on the team, albeit distantly, to Jonah Heim.
Heim will continue to get the bulk of the playing time the next week or so. The Rangers hope to have shortstop Corey Seager back sooner rather than later, and Huff will be an easy option back to Triple A Round Rock when Seager is ready.
Huff has been doing better at the plate of late. He was batting .174 on April 20 but joined the Rangers with a .267 average thanks to a .367 stretch that includes three of his five home runs.
Huff is out of options after this season, but there’s potential opening for him in 2024 if the Rangers let Mitch Garver leave via free agency.
Welcome back
Good things are coming this week from Rangers Today, but only one of them is ready to be revealed:
A three-part T.R.’s Memoirs is in the lineup.
T.R. Sullivan, living the sweet retired life, has been hit with some motivation as the Rangers get ready to head to Oakland for the first time this season. The A’s have been in the news a lot this season, and none of it has been good.
T.R., though, has fond memories of A’s baseball after going to college in San Francisco and covering the Rangers for 32 years.
Trust me on this one: It’s must-read stuff.
The other two items of note involved the Rangers Today Baseball Podcast. If all goes well with technology, we’ll welcome back an old friend for our next episode. The other announcement? A chance to grow even more.
Don’t forget to become a paid subscriber to Rangers Today so that you don’t miss out on what is looking like a promising Rangers season.
Doggy video!
Not the sharpest knives in the drawer, but who’s complaining? Enjoy.
They all share a single brain cell between them…😅pic.twitter.com/guZUGleqhf
— 𝕐o̴g̴ (@Yoda4ever) May 9, 2023
Jeff Wilson, jeff@rangerstoday.com
