Toronto Blue Jays (5-4) at Texas Rangers (4-6) LHP Jaime Garcia (0-0, 1.50) vs. LHP Cole Hamels (1-1, 3.38) Game #11 • Home #7 (2-4) • Sun., April 8, 2018 • Globe Life Park in Arlington • 2:05 p.m. (CDT) • FSSW+ / 105.3 FM / 1270 AM RANGERS AT A GLANCE WINS AND LOSSES: Texas beat Toronto last night, 5-1, and MINOR ALLOWS 2 HITS: Mike Minor recorded the win last club is 1-1 to begin this 6-game, 6-day homestand against night by allowing just 2 hits in 6.0 innings…it was his 1st win Overall ..................................4-6 TOR (1-1) and LAA (3 G)…team has won 3 of last 5 G af- as a starter since 8/28/14 at NYM while with the Braves… ter opening season with a 1-4 record…still seeking 1st win posted the 2nd quality start by a Texas pitcher this season Home ....................................2-4 Road .....................................2-2 streak of the year…club’s .400 win pct. is T5th-lowest in (other Mon. at OAK by Bartolo Colon), also 2nd time for a the A.L. and 6 losses are T2nd-most (TB is 1-7)…Rangers Rangers pitcher to reach 6.0 IP in 2018…Minor became Standing .............. T4th, -3.5 GB and A’s are tied for MLB lead with 10 games played…this the 1st Texas pitcher with a start of 6.0+ IP while allowing is the 5th straight year for the club to be .500-or-less after 2-or-fewer hits since A.J. Griffin on 8/3/17 at MIN, 1st Rang- Homestand ...........................0-1 10 games in a season (also 4-6 thru 10 G in 2017)…thru 11 ers starter to do it in Arlington since Nick Martinez on 6/20/17 One-Run ...............................0-0 G, team was 4-7 in 2017, which was Rangers’ slowest start vs. TOR…opponents are batting .143 (5-35) against Minor in 2-Run ....................................0-1 since 2009 (also 4-7)…going back to ‘17, TEX has is 6-14 in his 2 starts with 12 K’s in 10.2 IP. last 20 G, with 4 of those 6 wins against the A’s. HR ........................................3-4 No HR...................................1-2 • Team is currently T4th place in the A.L. West with OAK, THE OFFENSE: Texas batters have totaled 5+ runs in 3 3.5 games back of division leader (HOU) for a 3rd consecu- straight games, longest such streak since 3 in a row from 9/3- White ....................................1-2 tive day Houston and the Los Angeles Angels…have gained 6/17…last longer span was 4 G, 8/14-17/17…the team has w/ Blue ................................0-1 ground in the division on just 2 occasions since dropping the recorded at least one inning of 4+ runs in 3 straight games, w/ Red ................................1-1 season opener. a feat accomplished just twice in 2017 by Texas, both 3-G Gray ......................................0-1 Alt. Blue ................................3-3 streaks: 5/11-13 and 8/15-17…the offense has compiled a Blue Home .........................1-2 SEEKING SERIES WIN: Texas enters its first rubber game .274 (45-164) avg. over the last 5 G to raise season figure Blue Road ..........................2-1 of the season seeking the team’s 1st series win of 2018… from .201 to .238, highest since 2nd game of the year. Alt. Red (all home) ...............0-0 team is 1-1 in series finales, winning on Thursday at OAK… Throwback ............................0-0 club has gone 0-1-1 in 1st 2 series this year, 1-3 vs. HOU and THE BULLPEN: Kevin Jepsen (2.0 IP) and Jake Diekman Last 5 Games .......................3-2 2-2 at OAK…going back to 2017, Rangers are 0-3-2 in last (1.0 IP) combined for 3.0 shutout innings to finish off last Last 10 Games .....................4-6 5 series since a 3-G sweep at SEA from 9/19-21…team was night’s win…while neither recorded a hold last night due to 5-8 in rubber games in 2017, including just 2-5 in Arlington. the score, it’s worth noting that the bullpen’s 8 holds rank 2nd Come From Behind Wins ........ 0 Losses After Lead ................... 1 in the A.L. and T3rd in MLB (10-SEA, 9-ARI, 8-TEX/STL)… AT HOME: Texas posted its 2nd home win last night to snap over the last 5 games, relievers’ 1.31 ERA (3 ER/20.2 IP) has Score First ............................4-1 a 3-G losing skid in Arlington, as team is now 2-4 in home dropped the season figure from 6.75 to 3.89, lowest since the Opp. Score First ...................0-5 contests…going back to the 2017 All-Star break, Rangers 1st 2 games of the year. have gone 18-24 (.429) at home, T4th-lowest win pct. in that Columns below listed in a Home/Road/Total format span in MLB…beginning 9/9/17, Texas has gone 5-14 in last BIG LEAGUE CHOO: Shin-Soo Choo had a hit and walk 19 home games…club finished with a 41-40 (.506) record at last night, and he has scored runs in 4 straight games, the vs. AL West ............. 1-3/2-2/3-5 home in 2017, T11th in the A.L. longest such streak by a Ranger in ‘18…Choo has each of vs. AL Central .......... 0-0/0-0/0-0 the club’s last 3 HR spanning the team’s last 4 G. vs. AL East .............. 1-1/0-0/1-1 Interleague .............. 0-0/0-0/0-0 VS. TORONTO: Rangers have gone 1-1 to open a 6-game • Choo has started 6 straight in the leadoff spot, joining Deli- season series with the Jays…has now alternated losses and no DeShields and Elvis Andrus in compiling some of the best Series ..............0-1-0/0-0-1/0-1-1 wins over last 8 G vs. TOR, going 4-4 since 5/27/17…Rang- leadoff slot production by any team in the early going…the Series Openers............... 0-2/0-1/0-3 ers are 12-23 (.343) vs. Jays since start of 2013, 2nd-lowest top spot in the Texas batting order has generated a .297 BA Series Finales ................0-1/1-0/1-1 Rubber Games ........ 0-0/0-0/0-0 win pct. against any A.L. opponent in that span (11-22, .333 and 1.071 OPS mark, accounting for 4 of the team’s 8 HR vs. CLE)…Rangers also went 2-6 vs. Jays in the 2015 and and a team-best 9 runs scored…the .297 BA is 2nd-highest Lead after 6 ............. 2-0/2-0/4-0 2016 ALDS, losing last 6 in a row…clubs will play the entire for any spot in the Rangers order (.333 by 3-hole), while the Lead after 7 ............. 2-0/2-0/4-0 season series in a 24-day span from April 6-29, as the Rang- 1.071 OPS is highest for any slot. Lead after 8 ............. 2-0/2-0/4-0 ers travel to Toronto, April 27-29…Texas was 3-4 vs. TOR in Trail after 6 .............. 0-4/0-1/0-5 2017, losing season series for a 5th consecutive season… ELVIS ON STAGE: Elvis Andrus went 2-for-4 last night and Trail after 7 .............. 0-4/0-2/0-6 Blue Jays hold the lead in the all-time series, 213-207, but has multiple hits in 5 of the 1st 6 home games this season… Trail after 8 .............. 0-4/0-2/0-6 Rangers have the advantage both in Arlington (122-93) and has hit safely in all 6 home contests with a slash line of at Globe Life Park (67-47). .545/.600/.773/1.373…the .545 figure is 4th-highest among Tied after 6 .............. 0-0/0-1/0-1 Tied after 7 .............. 0-0/0-0/0-0 A.L. qualifiers. Tied after 8 .............. 0-0/0-0/0-0 THE EARLY SLATE: The Rangers are currently tied with the • Andrus has multiple hits in 5 of the team’s 1st 10 games, A’s for most games in MLB this season (10), as Texas is slat- most on the club and T2nd-most in the A.L…in the last 5 sea- Decided 7th/later............. 0-0/0-1/0-1 ed to play on 14 consecutive days to begin 2018…club will sons (2014-18), there have been just 4 instances of a Ranger Shutouts ........................... 0-0/0-0/0-0 Decided final AB .........0-0/0-0/0-0 get its first off day of the season on Thursday following this having 5+ multi-hit games within the team’s 1st 10 contests… Walk-off games ....................0-0 homestand. Andrus owns 2 of the 4: Prince Fielder (6 in 2015), Nomar Mazara (5 in 2017), and Andrus (6 in 2017; 5 in 2018). ALL-TIME HOME RUN LIST LEFTY LOVE: Today’s Cole Hamels start marks the 4th con- • Andrus remains the hardest in the A.L. to strike out, aver- Rank HR Player secutive start by a left-handed pitcher for Texas…last time aging 42.0 PA/SO. 32 473 Carlos Delgado that happened for Texas was June 12-15, 2016, the quartet of 33 468 Chipper Jones 34 465 Dave Winfield Hamels, Cesar Ramos, Pérez, and Derek Holland.