AL West teams to win the division despite a losing streak of seven or more games, 1995-2022:
Oakland 2006: 93 wins with a seven-game losing streak
Oakland 2012: 94 wins with a nine-game streak (sorry to bring that up)
Houston 2019: 107 wins with a seven-game streak.
Jonah Heim’s batted ball data before and after the injury:
Contact rate: 79% before, 65% after
Hard-hit rate: 38%, 25%
Median Exit Velo: 92.2, 83.6
90th Percentile Exit Velo: 104.1, 101.1
Box Scores
AAA: Round Rock 3, Salt Lake (LAA) 4 (12)
Round Rock: 9 hits, 6 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 11 hits, 3 walks, 15 strikeouts
Record: 30-18, 1 G up, 74-48 overall
SP Zak Kent: 4 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 57 P / 39 S, 1.76 ERA
RP Alex Speas: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 SO, 2.79 ERA
RP Kyle Cody: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 5.88 ERA
LF Dustin Harris: 2-4, 2B, HBP, .269/.393/.456
RF Sandro Fabian: 1-3, HR (20), 2 BB, .291/.339/.548
All things must pass. A Dio Arias homer tied the game at 3 in the 9th, but thereafter the Express were 2-13 with runners in scoring position, and neither hit scored a run. The win streak ended at 14.
Zak Kent, Alex Speas, and Kyle Cody combined for 7.1 scoreless innings. Salt Lake’s earlier runs scored off Cole Winn (3.1 IP, 6 H, BB, 3 SO). Since giving up four runs upon return to AAA, Speas hasn’t allowed a run across 11.1 innings and ten appearances, although he’s walked nine. Kyle Cody ran his scoreless streak to 14.1 innings, during which he’s allowed five singles and three walks while fanning 11. Here’s quick video of Kent.
Per Jon Heyman, IF Josh Harrison has opted out of his minor league deal with the Rangers. He’d batted .222/.323/.370 in six games with the Express.
AA: Frisco 0, at Midland (OAK) 3
Frisco: 6 hits, 1 walk, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 4 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 24-24, 5 GB, 55-61 overall
SP Seth Nordlin: 5 IP, H (1 HR), 3 R, 3 BB, 1 HBP, 5 SO, 86 P / 54 S, 5.43 ERA
RP Antoine Kelly: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 2.17 ERA
LF Evan Carter: 2-4, .285/.414/.455
Since claiming a share of first on August 11th, Frisco has lost nine of 11. Down 3-0 after the 3rd, the Riders didn’t mount a serious threat until the 8th, when Jax Biggers (strikeout) and Evan Carter (grounder) couldn’t take advantage of loaded bases.
Hi-A: Hickory 2, Greenville (BOS) 5
Hickory: 6 hits, 3 walks, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 5 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 33-17, 4.5 G up, 60-51 overall
SP Winston Santos: 0.2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 33 P / 19 S, 6.28 ERA
RP Florencio Serrano: 4.1 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 5.35 ERA
DH Wyatt Langford: 1-3, BB, SB (4), .267/.413/.500
1B Abi Ortiz: 1-4, HR (23), .289/.339/.631
LF Yosy Galan: 1-3, 2B, BB, .264/.324/.472
Abimelec Ortiz’s 23 homers lead all of high-A, and his 30 for the season are tied for third in the minors. Outside of burly AAA vets, Ortiz is the first Texas minor leaguer with 30 homers since Joey Gallo.
Winston Santos’ last month got a little worse when he was unable to complete the 1st. He’s throwing strikes, but opponents are hitting off a tee of late: .409/.453/.750 with 12 doubles and six homers in his last 19 innings.
Lo-A: Down East 4, Fayetteville (HOU) 5
Down East: 8 hits, 6 walks, 13 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 3 walks, 15 strikeouts
Record: 24-27, 7 GB, 61-51 overall
SP Leandro Lopez: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 26 P / 16 S, 3.29 ERA
RP Dylan McCarty: 3 IP, 3 H (1 HR), 2 R, 0 BB, 7 SO, 3.34 ERA
CF Anthony Gutierrez: 2-5, 2B, SB (30), .264/.328/.348
3B Gleider Figuereo: 1-3, BB, SB (6), .216/.302/.330
LF Jojo Blackmon: 1-3, BB, 2 SB (26), .201/.309/.344
RF Tommy Specht: 1-3, BB, SB (5), .235/.341/.311
The go-ahead run for Fayetteville scored in the 9th after two errors and a wild pitch by DJ McCarthy, who struck out seven of 13 batters. Leandro Lopez pitched for the first time in a month.
The Woodies stole six bases, and steals were of consequence in three of their four runs. The Woodies have struck out 48 times in the series’ first three games.
Today’s Starters
AAA: Bradford
AA: Garcia
Hi-A: TBA
Lo-A: TBA
Five Years Ago Yesterday
Frisco lost what was at the time believed to be its final game ever in San Antonio, as the Missions were to join AAA in 2019. That arrangement lasted all of one season. With the season near conclusion, the rookie Rangers had climbed from five games out of the playoffs to 1.5 games up in a span of two days, thanks to the first-half division-winning Dodgers climbing into first again and leaving the Rangers in place to claim a spot with the second-best overall record. In a span of three days, every game that needed to go the Rangers’ way did. John King allowed two runs in 1.2 innings in his pro debut. He’s surrendered one run in 7.2 innings with the Cardinals.