The Texas Rangers are still in the running for an American League wild-card berth.
When they play the Los Angeles Angels in the series finale on Wednesday night in Arlington, Texas, they will want to maintain that mindset.
On Wednesday, the Angels will start right-hander Jack Kochanowicz (3-10, 6.19 ERA) against Rangers left-hander Jacob Latz (1-0, 3.05).
Texas won 7-3 on Tuesday, tying the series after jumping on Los Angeles starter Yusei Kikuchi for five early runs.
In addition to Kyle Higashioka and Corey Seager going deep in the game to support Patrick Corbin’s season-high eight shutout innings, Michael Helman smacked a two-run homer in the second inning. In the race for the AL’s last wild-card slot, the Rangers are now 4 1/2 games behind the Seattle Mariners.
Kochanowicz, who was demoted earlier this month after giving up 12 runs (11 earned) in nine innings during his last two appearances, is being called up from Triple-A Salt Lake. In a 9-5 loss to the Detroit Tigers on August 10, he gave up seven runs (six earned) on nine hits in three innings, dropping to 0-5 in his 13-start losing streak.
Ray Montgomery, the temporary manager of the Angels, recently clarified that Kochanowicz could benefit from the less attention he receives in the lower leagues.
“The biggest thing is when you’re searching for confidence, you have to have a little bit of gains and some successes that give you more of that,” Montgomery stated. “I think taking the pressure off, going there and having the opportunity to stretch out, get to some secondary stuff and work on some of those things, will be a big help.”
Kochanowicz has made three appearances against the Rangers this season and is 0-2 with a bloated 9.00 ERA. In his five career meetings (all starts) against them, he is 0–4 with a 6.48 ERA.
Last Wednesday, however, Latz pitched a no-decision game against the Kansas City Royals, giving up just one hit in 3 1/3 shutout innings. Before Texas’ 6-3 victory, he was brought up from Triple-A Round Rock.
Latz has made three relief appearances against the Angels and has a 1.35 ERA without a decision.
Nathan Eovaldi, a right-hander, was slated to fill the position in the Rangers’ rotation. However, prior to Tuesday’s match, the Rangers declared that Eovaldi will probably miss the rest of the season due to an injured right rotator cuff.
Regarding the injury, Eovaldi, 35, expressed his disappointment. “Seeing the MRI results was simply a little unexpected. The way the season has been going, the way we’ve been making mistakes lately, and the effort to go back up and have a strong run is simply aggravating. It’s not looking good, but I don’t want to rule out the remainder of the season.”
With an MLB-low 1.73 ERA in 22 starts and an 11-3 record this season, Eovaldi is insufficient to secure the top slot at the end of the season.
