The Texas Rangers released their rotation for their four-game series with the Houston Astros, and it eliminated any intrigue regarding who would pitch in the series.
That’s not to stay the Rangers didn’t make an intriguing decision, however.
Texas opted to install Kumar Rocker as their starting pitcher for Monday’s game. It’s his regular turn in the rotation, but it comes after he didn’t start against the Colorado Rockies last week, threw behind an opener and pitched the best game of his Major League career.
The rest of the rotation for the series includes Jack Leiter on Tuesday, Jacob deGrom on Wednesday and Nathan Eovalid on Thursday. Bu the decision to start Rocker is the most consequential of the four-game series.
Why Start Kumar Rocker Now?
There was no rationale reported out of Anaheim on the move. But there is no question the decision to use Tyler Alexander as an opener for Rocker on Tuesday in Colorado worked for one start.
The left-hander pitched a shutout inning and then gave the ball to the right-hander, who nearly wen the rest of the way. He already had a 5-0 lead. He gave up two singles with one out in the second inning and exited the trouble. From there, he was terrific. He gave up no runs, just one more hit, struck out seven and walked three as he threw 103 pitches and worked 7.2 innings.
The reason the Rangers deployed the opener was because Rocker’s ERA in the first inning of his starts this season was 11.25 going into that game. Rocker also had an awful ERA on the road — 7.71. Texas was trying something different.
The impact of that start on his road ERA was incredible. His road ERA dropped more than three points to 4.66 after the game.
Rocker has been a better pitcher at home this season. While his record is 1-3, his ERA is 2.81. He has struck out 23 and walked 11. But he’s only given up eight earned runs in 25.2 innings. Batters are hitting only .230 against him at Globe Life Field.
Just because Rocker threw his best game behind an opener means that Rocker’s issues in the first inning have been fixed. Using an opener on Monday has the potential to make the right-hander uncomfortable in a ballpark where he has had far fewer issues in his young career. Then again, Texas found a potential solution to Rocker’s early game struggles. Wouldn’t it make sense to try it again, this time at home?
It amounts to beta testing how to use Rocker while the team is under .500 and trying to stay in the AL West. It’s by far the most interesting decision the Rangers made with its rotation for the Astros series.
