Texas Rangers Roundup – April 26, 2014

Apr 19, 2014; Arlington, TX, USA; Texas Rangers starting pitcher Colby Lewis (middle) and shortstop Elvis Andrus (second to left) and second baseman Josh Wilson (far left) walk up to catcher Robinson Chirinos (far right) during the sixth inning against the Chicago White Sox at Globe Life Park in Arlington. Texas won 6-3. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

The Texas Rangers ended their 3-game winning streak last night after losing to the Seattle Mariners 6-5.  They will get another shot tonight with Texas Rangers’ Colby Lewis and Seattle Mariners’ Felix Hernandez set to start tonight in Seattle at 8:10 p.m. (CDT). With that in mind here is today’s Rangers Roundup.

TEXAS RANGERS:(14-9, .609)

• Texas Rangers now ranked 2nd in A.L. and 4th in MLB for highest winning percentage (.609) and in wins (14)
• This is the 4th straight season for the Rangers to open 14-9 or better
• Having been in first place on Wednesday and tied with Oakland Athletics on Thursday marked the first days atop the division since September 5, 2013

GOING STREAKING:

• Entering the 3-game series with Seattle Mariners the Texas Rangers have won 4 consecutive game series
• To keep that streak alive the Rangers will have to win tonight and tomorrow’s game against the Mariners

OUCH!:

• Texas Rangers pitchers issued zero walks last night for the 2nd time this season
• The Rangers recorded 4 hit by pitch last night: Robbie Ross (3) and Neal Cotts (1)
• 2nd instance in last 13 seasons where a team had a walkless game with as many as 4 HBP
• Last night’s game marked the 3rd time in Texas Rangers history with as many as 4 HBP by pitchers
• Robbie Ross Jr. matched the club record with 3 HBP (12th time)
• Ross is the FIRST pitcher in Washington Senators/Texas Rangers franchise history with a walkless start with at least 3 HBP (Plus-side? He’s faced 84 consecutive batters without issuing a walk!)

WELCOME BACK:

• Adrian Beltre was activated from the DL before yesterday’s game
• In Beltre’s second at-bat in the 4th inning he hit an RBI double (We are so happy to see you!)
• Adrian Beltre extended his current hit streak against the Seattle Mariners to 14 which matches his 6th-longest against an opponent
• Beltre’s longest hit streak was 18 games AGAINST the Texas Rangers back in 2006-2007 when he played with the Seattle Mariners (Glad he’s on our side now!)

LUCKY CHARM IS BACK:

• Robinson Chirinos will make his 13th start for the Texas Rangers tonight
• The Rangers are 10-2 in his starts
• Chirinos holds the lowest catchers ERA in American League and 2nd-lowest in MLB at 2.17
• He has thrown out 4 of 10 attempted base stealers
•  Robinson Chirinos hit his 2nd career walk-off hit (single) on April 11 in the 12th inning vs. Houston Astros
• Chirinos caught Colby Lewis’ on April 19 when Lewis earned his first win since 6/17/2012 (hint, Lewis starts tonight)

BLOWN AGAIN:

• Neal Cotts had his 3rd blown save last night
• Cotts is now tied with three other players for the MLB lead in blown saves (yay)
• Neal Cotts is the first pitcher since 2006 with 3 blown saves in clubs’ first 23 games
• Last night’s 5 runs were most in a game with zero hits w/ RISP since 4/18/2012
• Cotts’ ERA blew up from 3.38 to 7.88 (the highest for Texas Rangers relievers)

NOT ‘KING’ OF TEXAS:

• Felix Hernandez does not have a win against Texas Rangers in 6 consecutive starts (since 4/11/2013)
• Two Texas Rangers have a career average over .300 against Hernandez: Adrian Beltre (.345, 10-29) and Elvis Andrus (.300, 21-70)
• The Texas Duo are 2 of just 9 right-handed batters with 30+ PA’s to have an average of .300-or-better
• Adrian Beltre’s .345 ranks 4th on that list

ON DECK FOR TOMORROW:

• LHP Matt Harrison will make his first start for the Texas Rangers in over a year (Welcome Home Harrison) and will square off against Seattle Mariners’ RHP Brandon Maurer (0-0, 2.08)
• First pitch is slated for 3:10 p.m. (CDT)
• You can tune in to FSSW/ 103.3 FM / 1540 AM

I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s edition of Texas Rangers Roundup. If you have any suggestions, questions or criticism, feel free to leave any comments below or hit me up on Twitter. I would LOVE to hear from you!

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