The Texas Rangers are at the top of the American League West standings, and manager Skip Schumaker gives much of the credit to Joc Pederson.
The Rangers will try to win another series when they face the Tampa Bay Rays in the middle contest of a three-game set Wednesday night in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Sitting at 24-28 in late May, Texas was in third place in the division behind the first-place Athletics and Seattle Mariners. The Rangers, however, won 31 of their next 55 games to take a two-game lead in the AL West.
Schumaker said moving Pederson to the leadoff spot was essential and reminded the manager of when the left-handed hitter produced against him when he was a first base coach and associate manager with the San Diego Padres, and the now-34-year-old was with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“With Joc moving into the leadoff, he’s been as good as anybody in the league with the power combination and on-base. Incredibly impressive,” Schumaker said of Pederson, who is hitting .304 in July and .291 from the top of the order after Tuesday’s 4-1 win over the Rays.
“He’s been on fire since then, and it’s fun to watch. This is the Joc we all remember. I mean, he was killing me in the San Diego days.”
Over 96 games this season, Pederson is hitting .254 with 19 home runs and 40 RBIs.
In the series opener, Texas starter Cal Quantrill recorded his first win since June 2 after tossing 5 1/3 strong innings. He also benefited from a slick fielding play in the fourth inning after Tampa Bay loaded the bases with one out in a 2-0 game.
Quantrill made a fine pick on Chandler Simpson’s hard comebacker, fired to catcher Austin Wynns, who then nipped the speedy Simpson at first to stymie the Rays’ best offensive threat.
“He had a (splitter) going today, not a pitch he uses as heavily as he did tonight, but he got in a rhythm with it,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “Quantrill made a nice play off the mound. He pitched a great ballgame for them and made the biggest play.”
Texas evened its road record through 54 games.
The best home club in baseball, Tampa Bay dropped to 38-16 inside its refurbished dome.
Wednesday’s matchup will feature a pair of left-handers — one starting conventionally, the other behind an opener.
Texas will send out MacKenzie Gore (6-8, 4.82 ERA) for his 23rd start this season and first career appearance against the Rays. The 2017 first-round pick (No. 3 overall) by the Padres has struggled to a 1-2 record and 7.66 ERA in five July starts.
Tampa Bay left-hander Ian Seymour (6-3, 4.64) likely will pitch bulk innings behind opener Casey Legumina (2-2, 3.95), a right-hander, and will look to break a personal two-game losing streak in his debut against the Rangers.
Seymour is 2-2 with a 5.32 ERA over five July appearances, four as a starter. He was hit hardest in an 8-2 home loss to the Mariners on July 12, surrendering six runs (five earned) on six hits and three walks in 3 1/3 innings.
–Field Level Media
