After Thursday night's series-opening victory, the Texas Rangers will take on the Toronto Blue Jays for a Friday night showdown.
After picking up a one-run series-opening victory on Thursday night, the Texas Rangers are back in action for game two of their series with the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday.
First pitch is scheduled for 6:07 p.m. from Rogers Centre in Toronto. Fans can catch all the action on CW33 as part of their select package of Friday night Rangers broadcasts and on 105.3 The Fan on the radio side of things.
Nathan Eovaldi will toe the rubber for the Rangers. The veteran righty enters play with a 7-7 record, 4.24 ERA, and a 1.18 WHIP in 93.1 innings pitched this season.
In his last start against the San Diego Padres, Eovaldi was solid, going six innings, allowing three earned runs while striking out nine.
Following MacKenzie Gore’s seven innings of work on Thursday, the Rangers bullpen is certinally in a good spot, but in the midst of a 14-game in 14-day stretch, Texas will no doubt welcome any length they can get from Eovaldi.
On the other side, the Rangers will see a familiar face as Patrick Corbin takes the mound for the Blue Jays.
Last season, Corbin appeared in 31 games (30 starts) for the Rangers, posting a 4.40 ERA in 155.1 innings.
This season with the Blue Jays, Corbin is 2-3 with a 4.73 ERA and 1.53 WHIP in 64.2 innings. Friday night will mark his 14th start of the season.
Rangers shortstop Corey Seager is not expected to get a crack at Corbin after returning from the Injured List on Thursday. Seager is likely to get the day off as Texas eases him back into playing every day.
With that being said, it seems likely that Ezequiel Duran will play shortstop on Friday. In the Rangers series-opener, Duran played third base, giving Josh Jung a day off. Jung will certainly be back in the lineup for game two.
With a win, the Rangers will earn themselves at least a sweep of this four-game set with the Blue Jays. If Texas can manage to sweep the series, they will head to the final leg of their road trip with a 42-42 record.
Coming into play on Friday, the Rangers are just 1.5 games back of first place in the American League West despite their 39-42 record. Additionally, Texas is in a four-way tie for the final AL Wild Card spot.
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