The Texas Rangers and Detroit Tigers both will look to flip the script as they open a four-game series Monday night in Arlington, Texas.
Both are coming off games they feel slipped away on Sunday. The Rangers surrendered three runs to the host New York Yankees in the eighth inning and lost 5-3.
In Detroit, a throwing error by the Tigers helped the Minnesota Twins tie the game in the eighth inning, and Minnesota went on to a 6-3 victory in 10 innings.
“We’re just missing that one more hit to give us a little margin for error,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. “It’s a tough one.”
Said Tigers manager A.J. Hinch: “We didn’t create a lot of momentum.”
Monday’s series opener will feature a pair of left-handed starters: the Rangers’ Andrew Heaney vs. the Tigers’ Matthew Boyd.
Heaney (5-4, 3.98 ERA) earned a win in his most recent start, last Monday against the Chicago White Sox. He and went 5 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on five hits with no walks and six strikeouts. It was his first win in June.
Monday will mark Heaney’s first start vs. the Tigers since the 2018 season when he was with the Angels. In two career starts vs. Detroit, Heaney is 1-1 with a 9.00 ERA in 10 innings.
Due to the Rangers’ inability to get timely hits, they left 10 runners on base Sunday. Marcus Semien, Nathaniel Lowe and Jonah Heim all had two-hit days.
Boyd (5-5, 5.37 ERA) is riding a two-game winning streak for the first time this season, and the victories came in consecutive starts. In his last outing, against the visiting Kansas City Royals on Wednesday, Boyd allowed two runs on six hits with no walks and seven strikeouts over six innings.
Boyd has faced the Rangers once this season, allowing five runs on five hits with four walks and five strikeouts over six innings as he took the loss on May 29 in Detroit. In his career vs. the Rangers, Boyd is 1-7 with a 6.39 ERA in 10 appearances, including nine starts.
Offensively, all eyes will be on Tigers great Miguel Cabrera as he faces Texas for a final time. The Rangers will host a pregame ceremony to recognize Cabrera, who is retiring after this season.
Hall of Famer Ivan Rodriguez, a longtime Rangers player and one of Cabrera’s former teammates, as well as Rangers starter Martin Perez, will present Cabrera with gifts from the organization.
Cabrera has a lifetime batting average of .382 with 15 home runs and 86 RBIs in 99 career games vs. the Rangers. He hit eight home runs at the Rangers’ old ballpark, Globe Life Park, but has yet to go deep at Globe Life Field.
Even though the Tigers lost, Cabrera had a standout performance in Game 6 of the 2011 American League Championship Series between the Tigers and Rangers. He hit two home runs that night at Globe Life Park.
In other news, the Tigers demoted third baseman Nick Maton after Sunday’s game. Maton had the costly throwing error that allowed the Twins to score the tying run in the eighth inning in that contest. For the season, Maton is batting .163.
“He needs a mental reset,” Hinch said afterward. “It was time to give him a different environment.”
–Field Level Media
