Another short start for Lynn in Rangers’ loss to Yankees. Has workload caught up to him?
For those who have watched the Ezekiel Elliott drama unfold, especially Tuesday night as he arrived at DFW Airport, hopefully it was noticed that Stefan Stevenson was all over the Dallas Cowboys running back.
Wherever Zeke went, Stefan followed with his cellphone camera rolling. Plenty of people gave him the business, albeit in a friendly way, but what Stefan did isn’t easy.
He basically played the role of paparazzi, along with others in the media who simply checked the arrivals from Cabo and waited out Elliott.
By the way, if the $90 million ($50 million guaranteed) deal was done, why the heck did he fly commercial. What, he couldn’t afford a last-minute charter?
Whatever.
There’s still some Texas Rangers baseball remaining, and Stefan will be out at Globe Life Park before the season ends. Multiple times, with the camera on his phone rolling.
Here’s some Rangers Reaction from a 4-1 loss to the New York Yankees.
Another struggle
The season is not coming to the kind of conclusion Lance Lynn wants.
The right-hander surrendered three runs on homers by Aaron Judge and Gleyber Torres, though the Judge homer likely isn’t at a homer at the other 29 MLB ballparks. Lynn walked three and needed 108 pitches to record 15 outs.
That’s hardly a poor start, and the Yankees were well within the Rangers’ reach as Lynn exited down 3-0.
Ariel Jurado would take that start.
But Lynn has tossed fewer than six innings in four of his past five starts after going at least six innings in 19 straight. He has logged 100 pitches in 27 of 29 starts this season and in 20 straight.
That’s a lot of work, though Lynn craves the heavy workload. Has it caught up to him?
“I was throwing 99 tonight,” he said. “I feel fine.”
Lynn was pitching on an extra day’s rest against one of his former teams, so he had some extra juice flowing. The bigger issue is the walks he has allowed since his last win Aug. 2, 18 of them, and the deep counts hitters are reaching against him.
However, assuming Lynn makes four more starts, five innings in each will get him to his goal of 200 innings. He and Mike Minor are tied for the team lead with 181 2/3 innings.
That’s good for a tie for fourth in the majors.
Lynn already reached another goal, 200 strikeouts. After fanning seven Yankees, he’s at 209 for the season. That ranks seventh in the AL.
The stuff is still there. In fact, Lynn said his stuff Wednesday might have been the best it was all season.
He’s not wearing down. He’s just not as good as he was earlier in the season.
Unpeaceful, queasy feeling
Left-hander Brock Burke either won’t make his next start Friday or will have his pitch count limited after dealing with a stomach ailment the past few days.
The Rangers initially thought Burke was dealing with a bout of food poisoning, but he said that he didn’t eat anything different from his teammates and he’s the only one sick. That leaves a stomach bug or morning sickness as the alternatives.
Burke has lost weight, and manager Chris Woodward is concerned about Burke not having enough strength to cover six innings or 100 pitches. Burke is the first pitcher in Rangers history to open his career with three straight starts of at least six innings and no more than two runs allowed.
The Rangers have more than enough relievers on the roster to handle a short outing by Burke or to cover nine innings if he is scratched. The Rangers also have the flexibility to to drop him back into the rotation whenever he’s ready.
Pence plan
The Rangers aren’t sure if Hunter Pence will meet them in Baltimore after receiving an injection of feel-good into his back earlier this week.
The All-Star is on the 10-day injured list and hasn’t played since Aug. 22. The Rangers could use his right-handed bat in the lineup.
Without him, Woodward has used Nick Solak in the cleanup spot. The rookie has the most pop among available right-handed hitters.
Pence is two home runs shy of 20 in a season that could result in him being named Comeback Player of the Year. It would seem that Pence would want to continue playing behind this season, and the Rangers could have use for a righty-hitting outfielder next season.
The Rangers signed Pence to a minor-league contract in the off-season not knowing if the swing changes he was making would produce results. They were interested in the effect Pence would have on the clubhouse, and it makes sense they would covet that again in 2020.
Woodward said earlier this season that he wants Pence on the roster as long as he wants to play and as long as Woodward is manager.
This story was originally published September 4, 2019 at 8:45 PM.
