The Texas Rangers will send Jacob deGrom to the mound as they open a three-game series with the Minnesota Twins on Friday night.
Regular season baseball doesn’t get any bigger than it will be for the Texas Rangers in the final three games of the season.
After Thursday afternoon’s win, the Rangers hit the road as they open up a season-defining three-game series against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field on Friday night.
First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. CST, with all the action taking place on CW33 for the final time this season. All year long, CW33 has broadcast select Friday night Rangers games. On the radio side of things, the action will still be on 105.3 The Fan.
Jacob deGrom takes the mound
There’s no one else that Texas would rather have starting a game of this magnitude other than Jacob deGrom, who will make his 31st start of the season.
deGrom comes into play with an 11-10 record, a 3.86 ERA, a 1.10 WHIP, and 196 strikeouts in 158.2 innings.
Earlier this season, deGrom did not pitch when the Twins swept the Rangers at Globe Life Field, so this will mark his first appearance against Minnesota this season. In his career, it will be just the third time he has faced them.
Without a doubt, this will mark the most important start deGrom has made for Texas since signing with the team prior to the 2023 season.
On the other side of the ball, Rangers hitters will be tasked with solving Twins ace Joe Ryan, who will make his 27th start of the season.
Ryan, an All-Star in back-to-back seasons, has posted a 6-10 record with an ERA of 3.83, a 1.18 WHIP, and 151 strikeouts in 138.2 innings.
Rangers need to solve Twins' Ryan
Back on June 18, Ryan faced Texas in Arlington, and he was dominant, going five shutout innings while allowing just three hits.
In his career, Ryan has posted an ERA of just 1.61 in four starts against the Rangers.
Texas will have to find a way to solve Ryan tonight, despite their recent struggles against right-handed pitching. The Rangers will not see a left-handed starter in this series.
If they were to qualify, it would mark the first time since winning the 2023 World Series title that the Rangers have played in October and their first division title since 2016.
Coming into play on Friday, Texas is tied for first place in the American League West. Winning the division is their only avenue to the postseason, as the Rangers have been eliminated from the Wild Card race.
