April 16, 2022 - Game 8
Television and Radio Listings for Today's Game
Rangers TV: Bally Sports Southwest
Rangers Radio: 105.3 The Fan (English); KFLC 1270 (Spanish)
Angels TV: Bally Sports Southern California
Angels Radio: KLAA 830 AM
National: MLB Network (in select markets)
Overview
The Rangers try to right the ship on both the pitching and offensive side Saturday against the Angels. After a bizarre fourth inning, the Rangers' offense went cold against the backend of the Angels bullpen. The Rangers' offense struggling towards the end of the game is a trend that is hitting this team early in the year. In the seven games this year, Texas scored one run in the final two innings (the Willie Calhoun pinch-hit home run on Monday). Meantime, Friday was a bullpen game using all but five relievers (Joe Barlow was the only pitcher that didn't pitch Thursday or Friday). As a result, the Rangers need innings from their leading man, Taylor Hearn, tonight. On Monday, Hearn escaped a lot of trouble allowing eight hits but didn't break. While the line wasn't the cleanest, he allowed only a run against the Colorado Rockies and put Texas in a position to win. According to manager Chris Woodward, the target pitch count for Taylor Hearn is around eighty-five pitches. "It's about letting him get to that limit," Woodward told me. "If he struggles a little bit he has to fight through it."
Texas will get their first crack at offseason acquisition Noah Syndergaard. Noah makes his first start against the Rangers in his career and his first appearance in the state of Texas. In his first start last Saturday, Syndergaard threw 5.1 scoreless innings allowing two hits against the Houston Astros. He walked two in the outing. Chris Woodward talked Friday about facing pitchers most of his team hasn't met and credited the coaching staff for the preparation they do. Remember, last Saturday. The Rangers were able to string hits together against Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman, who many Texas hitters hadn't seen much of. I expect the first few innings to be slow, but the Rangers adjust throughout the night.
Pregame Notables
Saturday will be Taylor Hearn's third career start against the Angels and his seventh career appearance. The last two appearances were starts. Hearn pitched 12.1 innings, thirteen hits, seven runs, one walk, and six strikeouts in the two starts. Taylor went eight total innings, six runs, four earned runs, five walks, and ten strikeouts during the four relief appearances.
Four of the last five starts for Taylor have come at Globe Life Field, dating back to last September. Before that, three of the previous four starts came on the road.
Noah Syndergaard, the Mansfield native, will make his first career appearance against the Texas Rangers.
Royse City, Texas (where Taylor Hearn is from) and Mansfield, Texas (where Noah Syndergaard is from) separate by sixty-five miles. If tonight's game were played in Dallas, it would be the quintessential Red River Rivalry, as Dallas is the halfway point between Royse City (31 miles) and Mansfield (33 miles).
Corey Seager is 7 for 10 lifetime against Noah Syndergaard with two doubles and a solo home run. Mitch Garver and Charlie Culberson are the only two with career at-bats against Syndergaard.
The Rangers made a roster move today: Texas placed RHP Josh Sborz on the ten-day injured list with right elbow soreness. Corresponding to that, the club selected LHP Matt Moore from Triple-A Round Rock. Because Dennis Santana is on the COVID-19 Injured list, the Rangers did not place Moore on the forty-man roster.
For the first seven innings, the Rangers offense ranks second in MLB with 6.29 runs/game, only the Cleveland Guardians have a higher runs per game.
Nathaniel Lowe and the Nationals' Josh Bell are the only two players that reached base in every single game their team has played in 2022.
Nick Solak replaces Brad Miller in the lineup. Miller has back soreness and it's not determined at this time whether it's day-to-day or if he's available to pinch hit.
Lineups
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