Rangers 5, Mariners 4
Rangers 5, Mariners 4
- That lived up to the hype.
- The final line was four innings, 74 pitches (47 for strikes), three hits, two walks, and one run on a solo home run.
- Impressive though that line it, is doesn’t quite capture how dominant Rocker looked. Of the three hits, two were to the first two batters Rocker faced, and neither was hit hard (78.7 mph and 70.8 mph exit velocities). Unfazed by runners on the corners with no one out, Rocker struck out the next two batters before getting Luke Raley to fly out to end the inning.
- Rocker generated 17 swings and misses, 13 coming against that 80 grade slider (or curve, whatever you want to call it) that he throws. Rocker threw the slider 33 times, and got 21 swings against it. Only three of his sliders were put in play, with the hardest hit being 84.2 mph.
- The one run allowed was a Justin Turner home run on a 3-2 fastball left over the plate, though it came after a missed called on 2-2 that should have been strike three.
- For a guy who has barely pitched above A ball, who missed most of 2023 and the first half of 2024 after Tommy John surgery, who only resumed pitching in game action two months ago, one couldn’t ask for much more. Kumar Rocker announced his presence in the big leagues with authority. The man looked, not just like a major league pitcher, but like a really, really good major league pitcher.
- I’m hyped.
- Oh, some other stuff happened, too, I guess. After Rocker left after four, Gerson Garabito and Andrew Chafin gave up three runs in the fifth, and it seemed like that would be that for the game.
- But Texas did put up a run on the board while Rocker was in the game, courtesy of a Josh Jung homer. Nathaniel Lowe then had a leadoff homer in the seventh to make it 4-2. And Texas pushed across three in the eighth, with a Marcus Semien homer, an Adolis Garcia run scoring ground out (with Josh Smith having reached on an E3 and Wyatt Langford having doubled), then Nathaniel Lowe bringing home the go ahead run on a single.
- That allowed Bruce Bochy to go to David Robertson and Kirby Yates to finish things out, and they did David Robertson and Kirby Yates things.
- So the Rangers have inched closer to .500, and inched closer to the second place Seattle Mariners. I’d like the Rangers to finish the year at .500 or better, and to pass the Mariners.
- But really, it was all about Kumar Rocker today. Winning the game was just a bonus.
- Kumar Rocker’s fastball topped out at 97.6 mph, averaging 96.8 mph, while his sinker averaged 96.2 mph. Gerson Garabito maxed out at 93.2 mph with his fastball. Andrew Chafin’s sinker touched 93.5 mph. Matt Festa reached 92.8 mph with his fastball. David Robertson’s cutter topped out at 94.4 mph. Kirby Yates’ fastball hit 94.0 mph.
- Wyatt Langford had a 105.2 mph ground out and a 102.5 mph double. Marcus Semien had a 102.0 mph ground out.
- A successful major league debut and a win. That’s a good day.