Texas narrowly escapes being no-hit again
The Texas Rangers scored zero runs while the Toronto Blue Jays scored four runs.
I guess they can’t all be the Mariners’ lineup, I suppose. There’s some debate as to whether Kumar Rocker’s velo was down on his pitches in his home debut today or if the gun was off as the other pitchers in this one also seemed to have deflated readings below their usual.
Regardless, whatever oomph that Rocker may or may not have had on his offerings, he did not have his command today as he walked four and hit another while making it through just three innings on 71 pitches.
One of the things that caught my eye about Rocker as he was rampaging through the minor leagues was how often he threw strikes. Rocker had walked only 1.2 per nine this season as he attacked the zone with even his swing-and-miss breaking ball being an pitch that he could throw for a strike if needed.
That, uh, did not translate today as Rocker faced one of the more patient big league lineups. It wasn’t as though Rocker was nibbling, he just couldn’t locate anything and labored nearly every at-bat. His stuff is still quality though, so the Blue Jays didn’t make him pay too terrible (just one earned run allowed) but the outing certainly wasn’t as superlative as his debut.
Meanwhile, Texas didn’t have their first hit until the seventh inning, a single that Josh Smith tried to turn into a double and was thrown out, after Jays starter Kevin Gausman exited with a back issue. They finished with just two hits.
Player of the Game: I don’t know. Walter Pennington pitched 2 2⁄3 innings of scoreless relief of Rocker so I guess that’s worthy of applause.
Up Next: The Rangers begin their final home series of the season with the Mariners coming to Arlington where RHP Jacob deGrom is ready to meet them while Texas will try to avoid getting no-hit by RHP George Kirby in the opener.
The Friday night first pitch from The Shed is set for 7:05 pm CT and will be aired on BS Southwest.