Rangers trio from Ohio receives a trip home by visiting Indians

Ryan Rua was the Texas Rangers’ starting left fielder Monday night, which wouldn’t have hand any particular significance if the game had been in any other state with an MLB team.

But Rua is from Amharst, Ohio, just west of Progressive Field, so the start rates as one of the highlights of his early career. And he was going to share it with more than 100 people — family, friends ex-teammates and ex-coaches.

“It’s definitely cool to be back in the lineup with friends and family here, but at the same time it’s another game,” said Rua, who went to Lake Erie College just east of Cleveland. “Once I get out there after BP and stuff, it’ll be just another game.”

The Rangers have three Ohioans on their active roster: left-hander Derek Holland, who started Monday in the opener of a three-game series against the Cleveland Indians, and outfielders Rua and Jared Hoying.

Manager Jeff Banister said that Hoying, from Fort Loramie about three hours to the southwest, is likely to start one of the final two games. Hoying wasn’t sure how many people will come to watch him, but it’s also a big number.

“There’s only about 1,200 people in my hometown, so I have a feeling it might be about half,” Hoying said. “Considering being with Texas my whole career, everything is over that way, so nothing has ever been this close to home. The closest I ever got was Nashville in Triple A. People still made it down to that, but that was six hours from home.”

While Banister is in the business of putting the Rangers in the best position to win, which he believes he did by giving Rua a favorable matchup even though Josh Tomlin is right-handed, he wants to take advantage of situations like the ones that arose with the Ohio trio.

Holland is from Newark, about 90 minutes away.

“I like those stories,” Banister said. “The path to the big leagues, there’s no guarantee that you can get that opportunity to give back to the people who have impacted your life. But, also, I believe in both of those guys.”

Crowded Frisco

Outfielder Shin-Soo Choo and right-hander Shawn Tolleson will join second baseman Rougned Odor this week for workouts at Double A Frisco, where catcher Robinson Chirinos will begin a medical rehabilitation assignment.

Choo, who is on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left hamstring, will take live batting practice from minor leaguers and Tolleson, who is on the MLB family emergency medical list.

Tolleson must be reinstated Friday. Choo is eligible for reinstatement Sunday, though that isn’t a lock despite that fact that he has been hitting and running since the day after he went to the DL.

“We’re going to make sure he’s right,” Banister said.

Odor is serving a seven-game suspension for punching Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista, and Chirinos (broken right ulna) will begin his rehab assignment Tuesday.

Lewis returns

Colby Lewis had his worst start of the season last week against the Los Angeles Angels, allowing six runs in five-plus innings, but the Rangers’ offense provided him with plenty of support in a 15-9 win.

The outing pushed Lewis’ ERA to only the 3.38 mark he will take into his next start Tuesday. Runs might be harder to come by for the offense, which entered Monday batting only .243 on the road (10th in the American League) and will be facing former Cy Young winner Corey Kluber.

Banister said that Lewis pitched better against the Angels than his line indicated.

“He didn’t execute and wasn’t as sharp as he had been in the past,” Banister said. “Sometimes your just-misses aren’t good enough. It was still manageable.”

This story was originally published May 30, 2016 at 8:11 PM with the headline "Rangers trio from Ohio receives a trip home by visiting Indians."