Series Thread: Texas takes on America's Hat at home in big series with implications...so many implications....

[donaldson79]

No kidding. Bad AB. Pitcher having control issues.

How is this so obvious to us and so mind-boggling to Ranger hitters?

 

[Duane1952]

Nice win Rangers.

 

[Bmurph]

W

 

[Duane1952]

For those who are interested, Frisco playing on FSSW at 7 tonight.

 

[saddles]

Jurickson Profar starts at DH tonight for Hickory. Great to see him back at it.

 

[Bmurph]

Nice thing to have in a lead off hitter.

on base 5 times today, will do nicely

 

[Bmurph]

Jurickson Profar starts at DH tonight for Hickory. Great to see him back at it.

Great to see is an understatement, but I hear ya

 

[Xx srs bsns xX]

Jurickson Profar starts at DH tonight for Hickory. Great to see him back at it.

 

[WastinSomeTime]

Pudge, how can you include Diekman in the good job by the BP. Too many homers on this Rangers crew.

 

[romeo212000]

Glad to have a win. Should've been two, but the Rangers can't go on 6-7 game skids, and so far they're not.

 

[WastinSomeTime]

Glad to have a win. Should've been two, but the Rangers can't go on 6-7 game skids, and so far they're not.

Taking 2 of 3 would have been nice against such a hot team. But we showed we can play with them regardless of the outcome of the 2nd game.

 

[jta4437]

Pudge, how can you include Diekman in the good job by the BP. Too many homers on this Rangers crew.

Not today, but overall he has better numbers with the Rangers than Dyson

 

[romeo212000]

Not today, but overall he has better numbers with the Rangers than Dyson

He's going to have games occasionally where his control is an issue. Gotta take the good with the bad.

 

[WastinSomeTime]

Not today, but overall he has better numbers with the Rangers than Dyson

Not today and not Tuesday. Did not make it out of the inning in either game. And if he has better numbers it is because Dyson saved his butt twice but mainly today. And the run today should not have happened. Don't get me wrong. I love having Diekman in the BP but was not too happy with how he did in this big series.

 

[WastinSomeTime]

The more I watch Cespedes the more I realize what a really good all around player he is. Speed, power, arm, can hit for average. Great pick up for the Mets.

 

[saddles]

Jurickson went 1 for 4 tonight.

 

[Bmurph]

Jurickson went 1 for 4 tonight.

not bad after 2 years

 

[Bmurph]

Rangers getting big lift from trade deadline pickups other than Hamels


After getting roughed up in the first two games of the series, the Rangers were able to salvage their three-game set with the Blue Jays with a win Thursday (TEX 4, TOR 1). Yovani Gallardo tossed 5 1/3 shutout innings and Jose Bautista made a huge error that led to three runs.

With the win, the Rangers are now five games behind the Astros for first place in the AL West. They're a half-game up on the third place Angels. More importantly, Texas is a half-game up on the Angels and Twins for the second wild-card spot. Thursday's win was the 10th win in 14 games for the Rangers.

The Blue Jays are a powerhouse, especially on offense, and Texas was able to hold them down Thursday thanks to their revamped bullpen. Keone Kela got two big strikeouts in the sixth and Shawn Tolleson closed the door in the ninth, but, between Kela and Tolleson, two trade deadline pickups navigated the seventh and eighth innings.


Five base-runners and one run in two innings combined for Jake Diekman and Sam Dysonrepresents a bad day for the duo, who came over in separate trades at the deadline. Diekman was the other player Texas received in the Cole Hamels trade while Dyson came over in a minor swap with the Marlins.

Combined, the left-handed Diekman and right-handed Dyson have pitched to a 2.25 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP in 28 innings for the Rangers. They've been lights out. Here are the individual performances for Diekman and Dyson since arriving in Texas:

2015 RANGERS TRADE DEADLINE PICKUPS: JAKE DIEKMAN & SAM DYSON
IP H R ER BB K ERA WHIP
Diekman 13 8 3 3 4 11 2.08 0.92
Dyson 15 14 4 4 1 11 2.40 1.00
Combined 28 22 7 7 5 22 2.25 0.96
That's 28 innings of excellence right there. Will Diekman and Dyson continue to pitch that well going forward? Maybe, maybe not. The important thing is that they've already pitched that well. Those 28 innings are in the books and they've helped the Rangers win games. Texas is 15-9 this month and 11 of those 15 wins have come by one or two runs. Diekman and Dyson played a role in most of those 11 close wins.

The Rangers did an excellent job identifying the duo as "buy low" candidates, Diekman more so than Dyson. Diekman, who averages 96.3 mph with his fastball, had a 3.80 ERA with 100 strikeouts in 71 innings for the Phillies last year. At the time of the trade, he had a 5.15 ERA with 49 strikeouts in 36 2/3 innings. With the Rangers, Diekman has pitched more like the 2014 version of himself than the early 2015 version.

Best of all, the Rangers have both Diekman and Dyson under control for a long time. Diekman will be arbitration-eligible for the first time next season, and he won't qualify for free agency until after the 2018 season. Dyson? He won't hit free agency until after the 2020 season. That's a long way away and a lot can happen between now and then, but it is important to note these guys aren't just rentals. They're helping now and can help later, too.

So far Hamels has an unsightly 4.73 ERA (89 ERA+) in four starts and 26 2/3 innings with the Rangers, but that shouldn't last too much longer. He's too good to keep pitching that poorly. Remember, he spent more than a decade in the Phillies organization and getting traded can be a shock to the system. Hamels is still getting accustomed to his new club.

When it's all said in done, Hamels will have the biggest impact among the players the Rangers acquired at the 2015 trade deadline. He's a true ace and they have him locked up through 2018. Right now though, Diekman and Dyson are playing a huge role in the team's recent success. They're locking down the late innings out of the bullpen and protecting some small leads.

The Texas bullpen was a nightmare in the first half, pitching to a 4.38 ERA in 283 1/3 innings. That was the third-worst ERA in the eighth-most innings among the 30 bullpens. The team also used 15 different relievers before the All-Star break. GM Jon Daniels sought out to not only add an ace at the trade deadline, but also strengthen his bullpen, and so far he's hit the jackpot with Diekman and Dyson. They're had a real impact and are helping the club stay in the race.








Sam Dyson (l.) and Jake Diekman have been huge pickups for the Rangers. (USATSI)

 

[donaldson79]

MARINERS FIRE GM JACK ZDURIENCIK
The Mariners are 59-69 this season, fourth in the AL West. Zduriencik had been the team's GM since 2008. Assistant GM Jeff Kingston will handle GM responsibilities for rest of the 2015 season.

 

[romeo212000]

MARINERS FIRE GM JACK ZDURIENCIK
The Mariners are 59-69 this season, fourth in the AL West. Zduriencik had been the team's GM since 2008. Assistant GM Jeff Kingston will handle GM responsibilities for rest of the 2015 season.

He's hot them saddled up with some big contracts.