Pirates at Rangers
The Texas Rangers hope to ride the momentum from two dominant offensive performances that ended their road trip when they host the struggling Pittsburgh Pirates for the opener of a two-game interleague set Tuesday night. The Rangers totaled 29 runs on 37 hits in a pair of easy victories at Seattle over the weekend after scoring 17 times while dropping the first five contests on the west coast trek.
“I don’t think there’s really any difference in our approach,” Texas manager Chris Woodward told reporters after Sunday’s 14-1 win. “We’re just getting pitches to hit and not missing. Our plan has been the same. Our guys are prepared. They’re ready. They’re really doing a good job of taking advantage of the pitches that we’re given, and we just keep coming.” Jordan Lyles will try to cool off the Rangers’ bats and halt Pittsburgh’s eight-game losing streak when he takes the mound in the series opener while Texas counters with fellow right-hander Adrian Sampson. Melky Cabrera, who is 9-for-21 during a six-game hitting streak, led the way with two homers in Sunday’s 7-6 loss at the Los Angeles Dodgers as Pittsburgh totaled the same amount of runs it produced in the previous five contests. “You learn lessons,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle told the Pittsburgh Gazette. “There’s winning and losing, and there needs to be some learning with the losing.”
TV: 8:05 p.m. ET, AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh, FS Southwest (Texas)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Pirates RH Jordan Lyles (2-1, 2.05 ERA) vs. Rangers RH Adrian Sampson (0-1, 4.50)
Lyles suffered his first loss of the season Wednesday, giving up five runs (four earned) on eight hits - two homers - over five innings against Arizona. The 28-year-old South Carolina native allowed a total of one run across 17 innings in his first three starts of 2019 with 18 strikeouts and five walks. Elvis Andrus is 6-for-16 with a double versus Lyles, who is 1-5 with an 8.15 ERA in nine career outings (seven starts) against Texas.
Sampson returns to the starting role after permitting one hit in four innings over two outings out of the bullpen last week. The 27-year-old Washington native gave up two runs in 4 1/3 frames against Houston and seven runs over four innings versus Oakland in his two starts this season. Sampson has yet to earn a victory in 12 major league appearances (seven starts) and served up 12 homers among 56 hits across 49 2/3 innings overall.
WALK-OFFS
1. Texas 3B Asdrubal Cabrera (calf) has missed the last three games, but is expected to return Tuesday.
2. Pittsburgh OF Bryan Reynolds has hit safely in his first seven major league games, going 9-for-21 overall.
3. Texas RF Nomar Mazara is 12-for-30 with three homers and eight RBIs during a six-game hitting streak.