Texas Rangers: Lineup, matchup, and storylines for spring training game one

What is only the beginning of spring training games, the Texas Rangers look to put their best foot forward this afternoon. 

Baseball time is finally here for the Texas Rangers. Arizona weather disrupted the opening’s for a few Cactus League teams, but the Rangers are on schedule.  As they embark on another season long journey in what hopes to be an improvement year, taking the field this afternoon is the first step in the process.

Rookie manager Chris Woodward will look to young pitcher Ariel Jurado to start off the spring against the Kansas City Royals. Jurado has seen some major league time in the past. He appeared in 12 games last year for the Rangers and posted a 5-5 record with a 5.93 ERA over 54.2 innings pitched. While that’s not anywhere near a flashy stat-line, he is only 22 years old and has plenty of time to progress.

As we all know, spring training is the place to improve areas of weakness and refine areas of strength. The young right-hander will receive plenty of instruction this spring. We’ll see what kind of start he gets off to today.

Texas Rangers’ Insider Evan Grant posted the team’s first spring lineup to twitter this morning. As you can see, the veterans won’t be coming out just yet. It’s still an intriguing lineup, however. A few players are looking to keep their careers flowing (Delino DeShields and Jeff Mathis) and others are looking to earn a major league roster spot (Willie Calhoun and Andy Ibanez). Hopefully a Joey Gallo home run will jolt us into a superb reminder that baseball season is here, and it will be here for quite a while!

Time & Location

The game starts at 2:05 PM central time at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, Arizona. It’s Jurado on the mound for the Rangers and Glenn Sparkman for the Royals. The weather looks to be 55 degrees and sunny if you are lucky enough to be in attendance. The game can be heard on 105.3 the Fan.