Minor had a one-hit shutout through six innings vs. Angels. He couldn’t finish the seventh
The Los Angeles Angels returned home from a road trip that took them to Arlington and Houston, and Mike Trout almost looked human.
The two-time MVP, who come November will be a three-time MVP, went only 7 for 30 (.233) with just one home run. Naturally, he hit that against the Texas Rangers.
He was 0 for 3 with two strikeouts Tuesday night entering his final at-bat.
But he was playing the Rangers, and he usually does bad things to their pitchers.
Trout punished an eighth-inning Rafael Montero fastball, hitting it 442 feet with a 114-mph exit velocity for his 43rd homer of the season.
No, not all of them have come against the Rangers, but 25 percent of them have. It was his 11th homer of the season against them, which set a Rangers single-season record for most homers by an opponent.
At least the Rangers only have to face him one more game this season.
Here’s some Rangers Reaction from a 5-2 loss.
Minor stumbles
Mike Minor was about as good as he has been all season for the first six innings Tuesday. All he allowed was a single and a walk.
Then, the seventh inning started, and he allowed a single and two walks to the first two batters. After a quick out, Minor left a 2-2 slider to Kole Calhoun a tad high, and it turned into a two-run double. Two batters later, Brian Goodwin pushed a grounder into center for a two-out two-run single.
“I felt like I was pretty close to getting out of it,” Minor said. “Early in the at-bat he swung through one, which was a better pitch. That one was a little bit up. I made good pitches and just didn’t execute when I needed to, I guess.”
The two walks are what did Minor in. He disagreed with the first, as his 3-2 pitch was deemed far enough off the plate by umpire Bruce Dreckman. Minor looked in toward Dreckman as he headed for the Rangers’ dugout.
“We looked on video,” said Minor, a first-time All-Star this season. “It wasn’t in the box, so it was a good call.”
The sudden U turn pushed Minor’s ERA to 3.25, still very respectable, but the highest it has been since April. His next start is scheduled for Monday at hitter-friendly Yankee Stadium against the pitcher-unfriendly New York Yankees.
Depending on how the Rangers work their rotation in September, Minor could make five or six more starts. He could face the Yankees, Orioles, Rays, Astros, Red Sox and Yankees.
He might get only the Yankees, Orioles, A’s twice and Red Sox. Only.
Minor has a chance to reach 200 innings and 200 strikeouts, but neither is going to be easy.
“I’ve never done the 200 punch outs,” he said. “I’ve gotten 200 innings, but like I told you in spring training, you asked my what my goal was and I said 200 innings. A lot of people don’t think that’s realistic, but here we are.”
Odor still sinking
Please notice the lack of a “t” in sinking, though no one would have thought twice had the letter been included. Besides, it would have been weak pun on Rougned Odor’s name.
But he’s still not hitting worth a darn despite the steady at-bats he continues to receive. His hitless streak is up to 24 at-bats after wearing the collar yet again. He reached base on a walk to start the fifth, and he kind of pimped it.
He did snap a 20-game streak with a strikeout. Woo hoo!
His average is .194. No qualifying MLB hitter has a worse mark.
Odor’s not the worst player in the league, according to fWAR, but he’s tied for second to last. But, hey, he’s tied with two more MVPs, Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera.
So, why does he continue to play?
Manager Chris Woodward insists that Odor is not budging from the process they have asked him to undertake. That gives Woodward the hope that Odor will be breaking out of his funk.
The Rangers need Odor to get straightened out. Owed more than $30 million the next three seasons, he is the Rangers’ biggest problem going into next season.
Odor is nearly impossible to trade because of his contract. Would a team possibly take a flier on him if the Rangers ate most of the contract? Maybe, but maybe not.
General manager Jon Daniels doesn’t want to just throw that kind of money away. Ownership likely doesn’t want that either.
So, Odor plays. He might not play as much the rest of the season as he has of late, not with the Rangers needing to take a look at prospect Nick Solak, but he isn’t going to be glued to the bench.
Even if that’s where he belongs.
Roster growing
The Rangers are already making plans for Sunday, when September begins and the active roster can expand to include as many as 40 players.
The Rangers won’t carry 40, but they have scheduled a bullpen day for Sunday knowing that they will be adding extra relievers.
The club is expecting to add right-hander Edinson Volquez and left-hander Jeffrey Springs, who will need to be added to the 40-man roster from the 60-day injured list.
Right-handers Ian Gibaut, Wei-Chieh Huang, Pedro Payano and Phillips Valdez are on the 40-man, they could come, too. The same goes for left-handers Kyle Bird and Locke St. John.
The Rangers are considering prospects Joe Barlow and Demarcus Evans, both righties, but neither is on the 40-man roster. That could be a factor.
Those who are coming might not all come Sunday. Triple A Nashville’s season doesn’t end until Monday, and the Sounds will need some pitching to get them to the finish line.
First baseman Ronald Guzman appears to be a lock to return. The only other position player on the 40-man roster in the minors is outfielder Nick Granite, who made a brief appearance with the Rangers earlier this season.
This story was originally published August 28, 2019 at 12:52 AM.
