Field Level Media
31 May 2023, 16:19 GMT+10
The Texas Rangers will attempt to pick up their second three-game series sweep in as many weeks when they face the host Detroit Tigers on Wednesday afternoon.
Texas' last sweep came against the Rockies, as it outscored Colorado 31-10 from May 19-21.
The Rangers have won nine of their last 11games, most recently on Tuesday night when they outslugged the Tigers 10-6. Texas rapped five extra-base hits, including two from Josh Jung. It also got a four-RBI night from Jonah Heim and a four-hit game from Adolis Garcia.
Texas also unveiled another power arm in Grant Anderson, who pitched 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief in his major league debut to collect the victory.
"In all my years, I can't think of a better debut than what he did," Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said of Anderson. "I think seven strikeouts is just so impressive. He had so much poise out there. He really gave us what we needed. I was so impressed with how he handled himself."
Freshly off the paternity list, Dane Dunning (4-0, 1.67 ERA) will make the start for Texas on Wednesday. In his last outing on May 22, Dunning gave up one run and six hits in 5 2/3 innings at Pittsburgh. He also walked three, but consistently escaped trouble.
"They were really good at not chasing stuff off the plate," Dunning said. "I just made some elevated sliders they were able to put some good swings on and some elevated mistakes. I thought they had a good approach at the plate. We kind of just took how their approach was and tried to do the opposite later on."
Dunning entered the rotation after Jacob deGrom was placed on the injured list in late April.
The right-hander has gone at least five innings in each of his four starts and hasn't allowed more than two runs.
In four career starts vs. the Tigers, Dunning is 0-2 with a 5.79 ERA.
Detroit will counter with struggling left-hander Joey Wentz (1-5, 7.80). Wentz has allowed 21 runs in 20 1/3 innings in five May starts.
"I view it as all pretty bad," Wentz said. "I've had some good starts this year and I've had more bad ones. I need to go out and do better."
In his latest outing, Wentz gave up five runs and six hits in four innings against the Chicago White Sox on Friday.
"When you openly admit that you're struggling, that's good in one sense -- that you are admitting reality," Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. "But on the back end, that's a lot of pressure that you're putting on yourself."
It's not a given that Wentz will start the game. Hinch could go with a reliever before bringing in Wentz.
"We may have to do some creative things," Hinch said. "We've talked about, 'Do we open for him and give him a change of scenery?' Maybe throw less fastballs -- that'd probably be a good start. But the adjustments need to happen here (and not in Triple-A). We have a lot of trust and faith in him."
He'll be facing Texas for the first time.
Detroit placed ace Eduardo Rodriguez and utility player Matt Vierling on the injured list Tuesday, and their top hitter, Riley Greene, left Tuesday's game with lower leg discomfort. The injury occurred in the first inning. Greene was removed in the third. He'll undergo scans on the leg to determine the extent of the injury.
"The way he was moving around, he needed to come out," Hinch said.
--Field Level Media
Get a daily dose of Detroit Star news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Detroit Star.
More InformationWashington, D.C.: This week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit suspended 96-year-old Judge Pauline Newman from hearing ...
NEW YORK: On Tuesday, former U.S. Congressman Stephen Buyer was sentenced to 22 months in prison for trading on inside ...
NEW YORK: This week, the Virginia-based Students for Fair Admissions, founded by affirmative action opponent Edward Blum, sued the U.S. ...
LONDON, U.K.: Jet engine maker CFM International said this week that thousands of engine components may have been sold with ...
BATAM, Indonesia: Due to mounting geopolitical tensions and protests against China's activities in the South China Sea, ASEAN member nations ...
FREMONT, California: This week, brain-chip startup Neuralink, owned by billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk, said an independent review board granted ...
BOSTON, Massachusetts: Officials said that a Delta flight from Chicago to Boston that was possibly struck by lightning landed safely ...
NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana: As Midwest farmers prepare to harvest crops and send tons of grain downriver to the Gulf of ...
(Photo credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports) Nelson Velazquez produced his second career multi-homer game and the Kansas City Royals capped ...
(Photo credit: Jim Rassol / USA TODAY NETWORK) De'Von Achane and Raheem Mostert had career days with four touchdowns apiece ...
(Photo credit: Robert Edwards-USA TODAY Sports) Eduardo Rodriguez threw seven shutout innings, Spencer Torkelson delivered the game's only runs with ...
(Photo credit: Lon Horwedel-USA TODAY Sports) Behind two total touchdowns by quarterback Jared Goff and a stout defensive effort, the ...