The Rangers send out future HOF’er Max Scherzer to face the Orioles for the second time this season.
Well, that was fun! On Friday, the Orioles erased not just their pre-All Star Break offensive torpor but also their historic struggles against Nathan Eovaldi, and a little bit of last season’s bad Globe Life Field juju, pummeling Texas 9-1 on a quartet of home runs and six strong innings from Corbin Burnes.
Now it’s Grayson Rodriguez’s turn on the mound. Like several of his teammates, the 24-year-old right-hander scuffled heading into the break and could use a bounce-back. Over his last seven starts, he’s 5-2 with a 4.71 ERA, with two recent stinkers: a seven-run effort against the Astros on June 21 and a six-run performance against the Yankees on July 13. It’s a simple formula, but tough to execute: when Rodriguez’s offspeed pitches aren’t landing, hitters can wait on—and tee off of—his fastball. Establishing the changeup early is key.
Of the current Rangers, Robbie Grossman is 2-for-3 off Rodriguez, Marcus Semien 1-for-5 and Corey Seager 1-for-6, the one hit a home run.
Youthful experience faces veteran excellence in Max Scherzer. The 17-season future Hall of Famer was activated off the IL on June 23 (back surgery), and has made just five starts this season. He’s been good in the limited sample with a 1-2 record, a 2.96 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and 23 strikeouts in 27 innings. In his last start against Houston, he threw just 71 pitches, allowing one run over four innings. The Orioles faced him on June 28, just his second start of the season, scoring two runs in 5.1 innings.
Surprisingly few on this young Orioles have seen much of Scherzer, but they’re stacking the lineup with lefties to play the matchups and see how it goes. The hot Anthony Santander has a good history off Scherzer, at 4-for-10 with two long balls. Colton Cowser is 1-for-2, and so is Gunnar Henderson. Nice to see Heston Kjerstad back in the lineup after he missed some time on the concussion list.
Orioles lineup
1. Gunnar Henderson SS (L)
2. Adley Rutschman C (S)
3. Anthony Santander DH (S)
4. Ryan O’Hearn 1B (L)
5. Heston Kjerstad RF (L)
6. Jordan Westburg (2B)
7. Colton Cowser LF (L)
8. Cedric Mullins CF (L)
9. Ramón Urías 3B (R)
Rangers lineup
1. Marcus Semien 2B (R)
2. Corey Seager SS (L)
3. Josh Smith 3B (L)
4. Wyatt Langford LF (R)
5. Adolis García RF (R)
6. Nathaniel Lowe 1B (L)
7. Leody Taveras CF (S)
8. Justin Foscue DH (R)
9. Andrew Knizner C (R)