This gets a middle finger: Rangers could be in need of a catcher
Catcher Isiah Kiner-Falefa left Thursday’s game with a jammed right middle finger when he slid into a bag and the Texas Rangers could be in need of another catcher if the news isn’t good Friday morning.
“I don’t like the way it looks to be honest with you,” Rangers manager Chris Woodward said. “If it’s a situation where he is going to be down, I don’t think we have any choice. Not with the games we have coming up. I love Jeff Mathis but he may die if I have to play him four straight games in three days. If Kiner can’t go tomorrow, we are probably going to have to DL him.”
Kiner-Falefa struggled to throw on the side after the injury and told Woodward it was probably wise to replace him with Mathis after the seventh.
“It didn’t make any sense to keep him in there. We’ll find out [Friday] if there is any (serious) damage,” Woodward said.
The injury happened when he dove back to first base on a pick-off throw.
“The last one I slipped and when I tried to get back, I was almost going to be out so I was a little more aggressive with the hand and I jammed it right there,” Kiner-Falefa said. “Hopefully tomorrow it’s better but it’s jammed. We’ll see. I played two innings with it. I even hit with it. We’ll see what happens tomorrow.”
The Rangers play a twi-night double-header Saturday against the Oakland Athletics in the middle of a four-game series. It would be a tough task for the 36-year-old Mathis.
1. Ariel rising — Ariel Jurado pitched his third consecutive quality start Thursday after holding the Orioles to three runs on eight hits over six innings. Since being called up from Triple-A Nashville on April 26 to help a thinning bullpen, he has impressed as a starter. He is 2-1 with a 3.57 ERA in his four starts in 2019. Two double plays helped him escaped trouble in the fourth and sixth innings.
2. Pence’d — Hunter Pence snapped an 0 for 10 stretch with a second-inning home run. It’s his 12th homer and 23rd extra-base hit. He had 16 exta-base hits, with four homers, in 97 games a year ago with the Giants. Only Joey Gallo (17) has more homers for the Rangers than Pence. Pence also has 10 doubles and a triple.
3. The Briefest of delays — The game was delayed by a brief rain shower for 13 minutes during the fourth inning. By the time the field crew had the tarp in place the passing shower was nearly gone. In fact, the sun was shining during the shower. It started raining again a little later but play never stopped.
4. Jesse’s streak — Reliever Jesse Chavez has the longest active scoreless innings streak at 20 2/3 innings after pitching a perfect seventh.
This story was originally published June 6, 2019 at 11:09 PM.
