The Texas Rangers will vie for a sweep of the slumping New York Yankees when the teams square off on Wednesday afternoon in the finale of a three-game series in Arlington, Texas.
The Yankees will send left-hander Carlos Rodon (11-7, 3.34 ERA) to the mound, and Texas will counter with rookie right-hander Jack Leiter (7-6, 4.10).
New York star outfielder Aaron Judge returned to the lineup Tuesday after being on the 10-day injured list with a flexor strain in his right elbow. He batted third as the designated hitter and went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts in the Yankees’ 2-0 loss.
New York manager Aaron Boone was happy to have the slugger back in the lineup.
“It’s Aaron Judge — we know what he means to our lineup, to the guys in the room,” Boone said. “So to get him back, we’re certainly excited about that. “He’s been pretty upbeat about the progress he’s made — so far, so good.”
Texas has won three of its past four games while the Yankees have dropped five straight.
Rodon allowed four runs and a season-high five walks in 4 2/3 innings in his most recent appearance, a no-decision against the Miami Marlins on Friday. He was handed a 6-0 lead and didn’t allow a hit until the fifth inning, but the Yankees lost 13-12.
“It kind of starts with me not getting through the fifth,” Rodon said. “I had a good little run going, and then I got real inconsistent, spraying balls. Just not good enough. Five walks, 107 pitches to get 13 outs is pretty unacceptable.”
Rodon also had nine strikeouts in the start, his most since recording 10 twice in the month of May. He is 2-2 over his past five starts, allowing 18 runs over 28 combined innings as his ERA has increased from 2.95 to 3.34.
Rodon is 3-1 with a 3.17 ERA in eight career starts against the Rangers, with those appearances covering 48 1/3 innings. One of the wins came on May 22, when Rodon posted six scoreless innings, allowing two hits and two walks while striking out eight.
Leiter also settled for a no-decision Friday in his most recent start. He allowed two runs on three hits and three walks with seven strikeouts over 4 1/3 innings in his team’s 4-3 loss to the Seattle Mariners.
“I felt really good,” Leiter said. “Physically, felt really good all day. The last thing you want to do is walk a few guys. I think the bright side is that could’ve gone south.”
The no-decision snapped a streak of three consecutive victories and four games with either a win or a loss.
Leiter took a loss in his only career appearance against the Yankees, yielding five runs on seven hits with two strikeouts over five innings last September.
While New York got Judge back on the field Tuesday, the Rangers still are waiting for first baseman Jake Burger to return from the injured list. Burger has been rehabbing a quad sprain that’s kept him out since July 12 and had penciled in this weekend’s home series against Philadelphia to return to the team. Instead, he began a minor league rehab stint on Tuesday.
–Field Level Media
