Tampa Bay @ Texas preview
Globe Life Field
Last Meeting ( Apr 4, 2025 ) Tampa Bay 2, Texas 5
Two-time Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom will make his second start of the season when the Texas Rangers host the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday in Arlington, Texas.
The right-handed deGrom (0-0, 0.00), who struck out six in five scoreless innings in the Rangers' 3-2 victory Sunday over the Boston Red Sox in his first start of the season, will face Rays right-hander Taj Bradley (1-0, 3.00).
Texas won the series opener 5-2 Friday behind Tyler Mahle's five scoreless innings. The Rangers have swept the Rays in their past two series in Arlington.
The Rangers' offense, which has started the season slowly, showed signs of knocking off some rust on Friday.
"What I really like was the two-strike hitting, Leody (Taveras) didn't just get [the runner over], but he got him in," Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said of his team's four-run third inning. "Really tough at-bat that Marcus (Semien) had there, fouled off some really nasty pitches and got the base hit to keep the rally going. So it got kind of contagious there. Those big innings win games for you when you put crooked numbers up."
Bradley, 24, earned the win in his first start of the season on Sunday against the Rockies. He struck out seven and held Colorado to two runs on five hits and no walks in six innings as Tampa Bay won 6-4. Bradley is 0-2 against the Rangers in his career, with an 0-2 record and a 4.30 ERA in three starts.
DeGrom, who won his Cy Young Awards with the New York Mets, in 2018 and 2019, returned from June 2023 Tommy John surgery late last season. He is 0-1 with a 2.11 ERA in three career starts against the Rays.
On Friday, Rays starter Zack Littell gave up five runs -- four in the third inning -- and acknowledged his game was "just a really weird outing overall." Littell went seven innings on 82 pitches.
"They were aggressive the whole game, obviously," Littell told mlb.com. "That third inning, I made some bad pitches and they hit them. It was definitely a weird outing. ... Frustrating, but part of the game."
"We preach strike-throwing and attacking," Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash told mlb.com. "He did that for the better part of the game and didn't get the results that you generally get when you pitch that way."
The Rangers placed right-hander Jack Leiter on the 15-day injured list with a blister before Friday's game. Patrick Corbin, who signed with the Rangers on March 18, is being recalled from Double-A Frisco to make Leiter's scheduled start Monday in the series opener against the Chicago Cubs on Monday.
Corbin was sent to the minors to start the season to build up arm strength. Leiter joins fellow starter Jon Gray on the IL. Leiter was pulled after five scoreless innings against the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday because of the blister.
--FIeld Level Media