Rangers notes: As pitch count mounts, Gallardo’s innings decrease

Texas Rangers right-hander Yovani Gallardo will make his biggest start of the season Wednesday night in the series finale against the Detroit Tigers.

The Rangers are trying to claim the American League West title by holding off the Houston Astros and Los Angeles Angels, who both had closed within two games of the Rangers prior to Tuesday night’s game.

There’s no better time for Gallardo (12-11) to step up and make it deep into a game, something he hasn’t done in his previous 16 starts. The last time he lasted more than six innings was June 27 at Toronto, when he tossed 8  1/3 innings in a 4-0 victory.

But that has been the norm for Gallardo this season. He has surpassed six innings in just five of his 32 starts. Three of those came during a four-game stretch in June when Gallardo looked like the best pitcher in the majors.

The shorter outings have mixed well with the Rangers’ improved bullpen, including the additions of setup men Jake Diekman and Sam Dyson. But in the last month, Gallardo hasn’t gotten past 5  1/3 innings, which has required the Rangers to use more than two or three relievers to close out his starts.

“I think Yo has been extremely effective — smart and stingy,” manager Jeff Banister said. “He doesn’t give in ... he knows how to manage the lineup.”

But has that stinginess increased his pitch count, making for shorter stints? Gallardo leads the majors with 665 first-inning pitches. That’s almost 21 pitches in the first inning per game.

“There are differing reasons why we take him out,” Banister said. “Depends where we are in the lineup, the score. I don’t know if it works against him, but I just know if he’s gotten us to a point where, if we have a fresh bullpen, we can go ahead and run the bullpen we have out there.”

If opposing batters aren’t biting the edges, it does “create a volume of pitches” for Gallardo, Banister added.

Holland better

Left-hander Derek Holland felt good after a bullpen session Monday. His middle finger, which was struck during Saturday’s game, gets better each day, he said.

“I got through my bullpen, found out some pitches I needed to work with and fix, and I felt like I did a good job of that in the bullpen,” said Holland, who added that he’ll have to alter his grip for the time being. “It gets better every day. I’m not too worried about it.”

Martin back

Center fielder Leonys Martin played the field Monday night for the first time since Aug. 3. He had the hamate bone in his right hand removed on Aug. 26.

“It was feeling a little weird,” Martin said of playing the field and of his lone at-bat, in which he struck out on four pitches. “I’m just so excited to be back on the field, happy with how fast my recovery was. It feels good.”

Quotable

“Yes, it does, and that’s why we made the move to move him up so that he’d have the extra start at the end. We want that guy on the mound. That’s why we went and got him ... you know what he’s going to bring. That’s why you have No. 1s.” — Banister on Cole Hamels, who the Rangers acquired in a trade July 31

This story was originally published September 29, 2015 at 6:57 PM with the headline "Rangers notes: As pitch count mounts, Gallardo’s innings decrease."