The Texas Rangers will turn to Jacob deGrom as they look to win the series finale against the Washington Nationals on Thursday.
The first two games of the Texas Rangers series against the Washington Nationals have just about summed up their season.
On Tuesday night, the Rangers got on the board first and cruised to an all-around dominant 5-0 shutout win.
Just 24 hours later, Texas conceded in the early innings and couldn’t get anything going offensively, leading to a 6-0 shutout loss.
On Thursday, the Rangers will have one more chance to go for a series win as they take on Washington in the rubber match.
First pitch is once again scheduled for 7:05 p.m., with parking lots slated to open at 4:00 p.m., followed by ballpark gates at 5:00 p.m.
The first 10,000 fans who make their way into Globe Life Field will receive a free Lapel Pin presented by Choctaw.
Anyone not heading out to the ballpark can catch all the action on Rangers Sports Network. There will also be a national broadcast on FS1. On the radio side of things, 105.3 The Fan will have the coverage.
Jacob deGrom will take the mound for Texas after he exited his last start early due to right triceps fatigue.
Coming into play, deGrom is 8-8 with a 3.95 ERA, a 1.17 WHIP, and 147 strikeouts in 120.2 innings this season.
Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said that deGrom won’t have any specific limitations, but as always, the team will monitor his status in between innings.
Tuesday night is lining up to be a historic one for deGrom, who would reach 2,000 career strikeouts if he punches out just two Nationals.
Should deGrom reach the 2,000 strikeout milestone on Tuesday, he will become the second fastest to reach the mark, doing so in 272 starts, just behind Hall of Fame left-hander Randy Johnson, who did so in just 262 games.
On the other side of the ball, the Rangers will be tasked with facing Nationals left-hander Andrew Alvarez.
Alvarez will make his 19th appearance (11th start) and comes into play with a 2-4 record, a 3.72 ERA, a 1.33 WHIP, and 69 strikeouts in 75 innings this season.
Brandon Nimmo is the only Texas hitter who has faced Alvarez in his career. In just two at-bats against him, Nimmo is 1-for-2, good for a .500 average and a 1.000 OPS.
Expect the Rangers to deploy a lineup with mostly right-handed batters, meaning the likes of Justin Foscue and Cody Freeman could get an opportunity to start as they did on Tuesday against lefty Jackson Kent.
