Something left: Rangers’ Minor and Moore have performed well down the stretch

Mike Minor wasn’t having it. Isn’t he happy with the progression he’s made returning to a starting role for the first time since 2014?

“No, not at all,” said Minor, who will start the Rangers’ series finale at 2:35 p.m. Wednesday against the Athletics at Oakland Coliseum. “The first half of the season was pretty bad. I pitched pretty poorly. The last couple of weeks or month I think I’ve pitched better. But I’m actually looking forward to the offseason to get better and come back next year and have a complete, good full season.”

Minor has, indeed, pitched much better of late, but his string of solid starts actually started almost three months ago.

Of the eight starts in which he allowed more than three earned runs, six of them came in April and June, when the left-hander was returning to a major-league rotation for the first time since 2014 after having left shoulder surgery in May 2015. He returned to the league a year ago in the Royals’ bullpen.

In his 11 starts since June 9, Minor has a 3.53 ERA and is holding teams to a .214 batting average in 63 2/3 innings. He’s 5-2 in the stretch.

The back pain that forced him to miss his last start is better, he said.

“I feel good lately. I don’t feel complete with all my pitches, but I’ve done well enough lately to keep us in ball games,” said Minor, who is 9-6 with a 4.61 ERA.

Minor isn’t the only positive development in the pitching department. Another offseason left-handed acquisition has improved and could be a viable option in 2019. Matt Moore, who was pushed from the rotation to the bullpen after a rough start, has found something of a groove in relief. He’s allowed just one run in his past four appearances (eight combined innings) and has nine strikeouts in the stretch. While Moore’s ERA as a reliever is still sitting at 5.10 (three runs less than as a starter), his strikeouts are up (28 in 31 relief innings).

“I feel like I’m in a good spot right now. The ball is coming out good. I’m attacking the way I want to attack and using a little bit more of the fastball and not as much as the changeup, not as much as the cutter,” Moore said.

“[Relieving] is little bit more high intensity than starting. You don’t have 110 pitches to play with your pitches. I don’t know if it’s helped me. I don’t know what would have happened if I had stayed in a starting role. I’d like to think I would have figured something out and been able to put together a little roll, but in general I think being able to get out there more often is nice.”

Moore says working a long reliever has been good for him mentally. Having to sit for five or six days after a bad start was tough to handle. After allowing a run in 2/3 of an inning at Arizona on July 30, for example, Moore said he told manager Jeff Banister to try to call on him the next night. Banister did and Moore threw a scoreless eighth inning.

“Everyone wants to figure it out in a game. There’s only a certain amount of work that will translate from the side to in the game,” Moore said. “Look what [Carolos] Tocci been doing. He had very sporadic at-bats [early in the season]. It’s got to be a very hard thing for timing and for that feeling to go away, OK, now I’m here. The same can be said for a pitcher. You always want to get right back out there.”

Moore, of course, would like to return to the rotation, but right now it’s about focusing on his new role.

“I haven’t thought that far ahead what things might look like in the future for me,” he said. “I’m just trying to fulfill my duties right now to this club.”

Working out of the bullpen has helped Moore, Banister believes.

“The fastball has ticked up, the breaking ball is sharper. Just the consistency of how sharp his stuff has been and the way he has attacked the strike zone has been much different,” Banister said. “I’d like to think being in the bullpen and the number of outings and the different looks he has had, has helped.”

Could Moore follow in Minor’s path and return to the rotation after a season of relief?

“Obviously, we think the guy is a starter and has starter stuff because we signed him as a starter and we started the season with him as a starter,” Banister said.

Even if Minor is reluctant to call 2018 a success, Banister has been pleased with his progress. Minor is already thinking about an off-season in which he prepares himself for no pitch or innings limitations by the time spring training begins.

“They are always looking to be better. That drive is what really keeps a lot of guys going in the right direction,” Banister said. “I’d like to think there will be no limitations.”

This story was originally published August 21, 2018 at 9:31 PM.