Week 7 Recap: Swept for the Week & Yankees Series Preview

Season record: 18-24

Week 7 record: 0-6

Series record: 6-7

The Rangers celebrated getting to .500 by losing five straight on the road. They’re now their season worst six games under .500. So that’s...cool? Not only was the .500 record short lived, they also broke their winning streak of four game series thanks to looking absolutely lost in Houston. They were outscored this week 33-17.

The highlight of the week, Joey’s arm:

The low light, aside from the games being boring and just the awful, Willie Calhoun was once again hurt, but hopefully it’s not an IL necessary injury and just a “oh that looked really painful but the day off should help” injury after he fouled a ball off his ankle in Saturday’s game and was giving rest on Sunday.

Texas could restart their four game series winning streak back up tonight as they play the New York Yankees to start a seven game homestand which includes another weekend series against the Houston Astros.

The Yankees are currently in third place in the A.L. East with a 22-18 record, just two games back from the first place Boston Red Sox.

GAME ONE

The Rangers will face a familiar pitcher in a different uniform in Gerrit Cole. Cole hasn’t faced Texas since signing with the Yankees because of the divisional only games last season. Cole has a 1.37 ERA and 0.68 WHIP in eight starts and 52.2 innings pitched this season. In his career against the Rangers, Cole has a 5-2 record with a 3.75 ERA and 1.08 WHIP in 62.1 innings. Since his first start of 2021 when he went 5.1 IP, he’s pitched at least six innings in every game. His last start, against the Tampa Bay Rays, Cole went eight innings and gave up just four hits and struck out 12.

This will be Jordan Lyles’ second career game against the Yankees. He pitched 2.2 innings against them in 2016 and gave up three runs (two earned) on two hits.

GAME TWO

On Tuesday, the Rangers will face Jameson Taillon for the second time in his career. He went 6.1 innings when he faced them as a Pittsburgh Pirate in 2019 and gave up four runs (three earned) on five hits and two walks. Taillon is 1-3 this season with a 5.40 ERA and 1.20 WHIP in 33.1 innings.

Mike Foltynewicz will make the start for Texas. Foltynewicz hasn’t given up a homerun in his last two starts and he may have the unknown element of having never faced the Yankees in his career until now but he might have trouble on Tuesday as the Yankees are third in the Majors in HRs as a team.

GAME THREE

Rangers don’t currently have a starter listed for Wednesday’s game but they will face former Texas great, Corey Kluber. Kluber is 4-1 in seven career starts against the Rangers with a 3.75 ERA and 1.06 WHIP in 48 IP. This season, Kluber is3-2 in eight starts with a 3.48 ERA and 1.40 WHIP in 41.1 IP.

GAME FOUR

In Thursday’s afternoon, Domingo Germán will make his second career start against Texas. The only other start he’s had against the Rangers did not go well...for him. He only made it 3.2 innings but gave up six runs on four hits (two homeruns) and three walks. This season he is 3-2 in seven starts with a 3.62 ERA and 1.15 WHIP in 37.1 innings.

Dane Dunning will start for the Rangers, his first career start against the Yankees. However he is coming off a rough outing against Houston, and the last few games have shown he struggles in the first inning before shutting it down the rest of the game but that only helps if the Rangers can score enough runs to get them out of the early deficit.

Dunning has a 10.12 ERA in the first inning this year, 0.00 in the second. Innings 1-3 he has s 5.70 ERA whereas innings 4-6 he has a 1.98 ERA.