The Texas Rangers spent Thursday celebrating their first World Series title by visiting the White House, then got a day to themselves in New York on Friday due to a forecast of heavy rain.
At seven games under .500, the suddenly well-rested Rangers are hoping there is enough time to return to the postseason, and they get two chances at a victory Saturday when they visit the New York Yankees for a newly scheduled doubleheader.
The Rangers were five games over .500 following a 12-11 win over the Oakland Athletics on May 8, but have gone 32-44 since. The defending champions dropped to 3-9 in their past 12 games following a five-game winning streak July 21-25 and lost two of three at home to the Houston Astros.
The Rangers earned a 4-3 win over the Astros on Monday when Josh Smith homered in the 10th inning, but they were held to a ninth-inning homer by Corey Seager on Tuesday and struck out 11 times in Wednesday’s 6-4 loss.
“We have to win games,” Texas manager Bruce Bochy said. “When you’re behind, it’s more critical. We still have (47) games (left), but still you get too far behind. We’re not playing very well right now. When you lose the series, that’s not gonna work. We’re going to have to find a way to start taking some series.”
The Yankees are playing their second doubleheader in four days and hope their pitching fares better than it did in consecutive losses to the Los Angeles Angels.
After opening the series with a 5-2 win in a doubleheader opener, New York gave up 27 hits and was outscored 17-6 in its last two losses to drop to 3-3 in a stretch of 15 straight games against opponents with losing records.
“We have the guys to go out there,” New York manager Aaron Boone said of his pitching following Thursday’s 9-4 loss. “It’s just getting a few guys going and getting to that next level of execution.”
New York will start left-hander Carlos Rodon (12-7, 4.37 ERA) against Texas right-hander Nathan Eovaldi (8-5, 3.62 ERA) in the doubleheader opener. Right-hander Gerrit Cole (3-2, 5.09 ERA) will pitch for the Yankees in the second game against Texas left-hander Cody Bradford (3-0, 3.96 ERA).
Rodon last pitched Saturday and earned a win when he allowed three runs on three hits in 5 1/3 innings as the Yankees earned an 8-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. Rodon is 1-1 with a 4.70 ERA in five career starts against Texas.
Eovaldi is attempting to avoid losing consecutive starts for the second time this season after allowing five runs on seven hits in five innings Sunday against the Boston Red Sox. He is 4-4 with a 3.45 ERA in 20 career appearances (17 starts) against the Yankees. He made 51 appearances (48 starts) for New York in 2015 and ’16.
Cole last pitched Sunday and took a no-decision when he allowed two runs on six hits in 5 2/3 innings before the Yankees earned a 4-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on a 10th-inning single by DJ LeMahieu. Cole is 6-4 with a 3.86 ERA in 15 career starts against Texas.
Bradford will make his second start and third appearance since missing 3 1/2 months with a fractured rib and is facing the Yankees for the first time. Bradford allowed five innings in two relief innings in an 8-1 loss at St. Louis on July 30 and three runs on four hits in 3 2/3 innings during a no-decision against Boston a week ago.
–Field Level Media
