There are many ways in which Major League Baseball stands out among the other three major sports. It is the only major sport in North America that has a 162-game schedule over the course of the year. With this in mind, there are going to be moments during this long stretch where you question why things are happening the way they are. Usually, these questions will come up when a player or team is playing poorly. When you’re doing well, it’s best not to fret over it. In the case of Texas Rangers starting pitcher Jordan Lyles’ strange season, it leads to questions concerning both his low points and his success this year.
Jays Give Lyles the Blues
Lyles’ most recent start came on Friday, July 16th against the Toronto Blue Jays at TD Clubhouse, their temporary home in Buffalo, New York. Unfortunately, the Jays got the best of Lyles. He pitched four innings, and that was all that Rangers’ manager Chris Woodward needed to see on this particular day. Lyles gave up six runs, all of them earned, on seven hits. Four of those hits went over the fence in an outing that was far from impressive. The Rangers would go on to lose by a final score of 10-2. Just another twist in Lyles’ strange season. It wouldn’t get much better for the Rangers against Toronto over the remainder of the weekend. Saturday’s game was postponed due to rain, so they had to play a doubleheader on Sunday. They would go on to lose both of those games, giving up a combined total of 15 runs on the day.
Varied Results
Lyles’ Sunday start put his record for 2021 at 5-6. If he hasn’t done so already, he should treat teammates Joey Gallo and Adolis Garcia to a big dinner. These two guys have kept Lyles in a lot of his games with their power numbers this year. He has shown signs of life at certain points, but he really hasn’t found his groove. In 18 starts this season, he has an earned run average of 5.20 over 100.1 innings pitched. He also has one relief appearance to his credit. He has struck out 79 batters and given up 33 walks. One thing that he needs to work on is lowering his WHIP. Right now, it stands at 1.49 on the season. Giving up walks is one of the things that hurts a pitcher the most. The same goes for giving up home runs. So far in 2021, Lyles has given up 21 of them. Despite these numbers, Lyles’ strange season isn’t completely lost. He still has a good number of starts to put up a respectable season. We’ll see what happens.
Roster Moves
With catcher Jose Trevino currently on a rehab assignment at Double-A Frisco, the Rangers have also optioned fellow catcher Sam Huff to Frisco to join him. Trevino is expected to rejoin the Rangers when they take on the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park from July 23-25. This will be a welcome change as the Rangers could sure use Trevino’s leadership, both on the field and in the clubhouse. The Rangers have also designated right-hander Tyler Phillips for assignment to make room for Huff’s return to the 40-man roster. In other news, it appears that lefty John King will be able to make his return to the Rangers in late July. He is working his way back from shoulder inflammation. His IL placement is retroactive to July 7th.
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
Players Mentioned:
Jordan Lyles, Joey Gallo, Adolis Garcia, Jose Trevino, Sam Huff, Tyler Phillips, John King
