Rangers drop doubleheader to Indians, but don’t blame the auditioning Jurado, Lynn
Mike Minor worked the first game of the three-game series against the Cleveland Indians, and Lance Lynn was to work the finale Wednesday afternoon at Progressive Field.
The Texas Rangers already know what those two can do and will do for them in 2020, assuming neither is traded in the off-season.
The other three spots for next season are up in the air, way up in the air. It might be only one or two by the time spring training rolls around, depending what the Rangers do in the off-season.
So, the start Ariel Jurado made Wednesday in Game 1 of the Rangers-Indians doubleheader wasn’t without significance. It and his other 13 starts this season have been a tryout for next season.
Tryouts will continue the rest of the season, including the next two Rangers games as Kolby Allard and Pedro Payano start Friday and Saturday against the Milwaukee Brewers.
Even more will be added to the group of hopefuls over the final two months of the season. Jurado might be the leader of the pack after a strong performance Wednesday.
Jurado took a one-hit shutout into the seventh inning before surrendering a two-run homer to Jose Ramirez that broke a scoreless tie and lifted the Indians to a 2-0 victory.
“We’re looking not only at this year but past this year,” manager Chris Woodward said. “If we add some pieces, where does he fit? I think we’re always evaluating that. Every time he goes out he’s proving to us if he can maintain that role. That’s part of being a young starter.”
The Indians completed the doubleheader sweep with a 5-1 victory in which Lynn also allowed only two runs in seven innings. The offense, though, scored in only two of the 27 innings in the series, so it might be a minor miracle the Rangers won at all in Cleveland.
They beat the Indians 1-0 on Monday.
Jurado has been better than last season, thanks to experience, some changes suggested by pitching coach Julio Rangel and being in better physical condition. Being called “Bartolito” probably isn’t entirely about Jurado’s pitching.
He’s still a fastball-heavy pitcher, though he’s throwing it 5.8 percent less than last season and is throwing his sinker 15 percent less. He is also throwing a tick harder than in 2018 (93.4 mph vs. 92.7 mph).
Jurado took advantage of an Indians team that doesn’t fare well against the sinker, Woodward said. Jurado said that he isn’t throwing it as much now because experience has taught him to mix things up more.
“With that experience I have more control with what I have to do,” said Jurado, whose ERA this season is 4.54 after posting a 5.93 ERA in 2018. “My pitches are working better than last year. My sinker is working better.”
The Rangers have seen Jurado throw up in the zone with his four-seamer. The fewer fastballs have resulted in more sliders, a pitch that is sharper than it was in his rookie season.
If he can throw his slider for a strike, it keeps hitters off-balance.
“He’s done a really good job for us,” Woodward said. “I didn’t know what to expect from Jurado coming into the year. I think he’s done better than I anticipated, but I didn’t really know what to anticipate.”
And Wednesday?
Jurado didn’t allow a hit until Mike Freeman singled to center with two outs in the fifth. Jurado pitched a quick sixth, but Carlos Santana opened the seventh with a single and Ramirez connected two batters later.
Jurado, who allowed only three hits and two walks while striking out five, needed only a tidy 99 pitches to record 21 outs. That rates as one of his finest starts of the season and will be high on his resume for the 2020 rotation.
“He’s pitching for that,” Woodward said.
This story was originally published August 7, 2019 at 2:42 PM.
