The Texas Rangers will go for their second consecutive series sweep and their sixth straight win when they square off with the struggling Atlanta Braves on Sunday afternoon in the finale of a three-game interleague series in Arlington, Texas.
The Braves will send Bryce Elder (4-6, 5.63 ERA) to the mound while rookie Jack Leiter (6-5, 4.27) will start for Texas in a matchup of right-handers.
The Rangers have won the first two games of the set, including 6-5 Saturday on Marcus Semien’s RBI single in the 10th inning. Texas swept the Athletics prior to this series after taking two of three games from Houston on the road and Detroit in its previous series.
Atlanta, conversely, has dropped four straight games and seven of its past 10 and is in fourth place in the National League East, 15 games under .500.
“It’s embarrassing, honestly,” Braves pitcher Spencer Strider said about the Braves’ struggle. “It feels like we’ve had a million opportunities to make adjustments and get headed in the direction that we think we’re capable of, and we just haven’t been able to do it.
“At some point, you can’t keep thinking that you’re better than you’re playing. At this point, we’ve got to be brutally honest with ourselves and commit to finding a process that helps us get better to where we can start winning some games.”
Adding third baseman Austin Riley from the injured list and slumping designated hitter Marcell Ozuna back into the lineup didn’t make much of a difference for Atlanta on Saturday. The duo went a combined 0-for-8 with six strikeouts — Riley fanned four times, including in the 10th with a runner on third base.
Atlanta will turn to Elder in an effort to break the skid. He has won his past two starts after suffering losses in his previous three appearances. In the two wins, Elder has allowed a combined five runs on 16 hits and four walks over 11 2/3 innings, including a five-inning stint in which he surrendered three runs on eight hits with three walks and a season-low one strikeout in a game the Braves won 9-5 on Monday at home against San Francisco.
Elder has faced the Rangers once in his career, allowing three runs on four hits and three walks in a 3-1 loss in 2022 that resulted in a 6.23 ERA.
Leiter wil head back to the mound carrying back-to back victories that snapped a six-game winless streak extending to May 30. He was effective if a bit wild in his most recent start, surrendering two runs on four hits and four walks over six innings of work in a game Texas won 7-2 over the Athletics on Monday. He struck out seven, tying a season high.
“It was big for Jack to have a great start,” Texas manager Bruce Bochy said. “[He was] good, and it was a nice job. He did have to pitch around some walks, but he regrouped. made pitches when he had to, and had good stuff, with a good mix.”
Leiter has never faced the Braves in his 26-game MLB career.
–Field Level Media
