Kumar Rocker takes the mound for the Texas Rangers as they look to avoid being swept by the Milwaukee Brewers.
Having won four of five games from Aug. 20-24, the Texas Rangers find themselves having lost each of their last four.
After being outscored 11-4 in the first two games of this Milwaukee Brewers series, the Rangers know they can't come out of American Family Field with a series victory, but they'd love to at least not be swept.
At the very least, there's a silver lining knowing the Brewers have the best record in all of baseball, but that still doesn't help hide the fact that the 66-70 Rangers are once again a few games out of first place in the American League West.
Kumar Rocker is set to take the mound in the series finale, and it's worth noting he's coming off a win, and that's exactly the type of confidence the Rangers need as they look to steal a win against the Brewers.
Rocker won his last start on Monday
The Rangers know Rocker is only 5-10 this season, but he's coming off a win and would love to start building some momentum.
Early home runs haunted the Rangers last night, so it's up to Rocker to make sure that if the Brewers do end up scoring, they don't do it with an emphatic first-inning statement.
Rocker, 26, has won three of his last seven starts going back to Monday, July 27. He's 3-2 in that stretch, but hasn't gone deeper than 5.2 innings the entire month of August.
Texas's bullpen is in fine shape, but obviously, it could be better. The Rangers would love to see Rocker go deep into this one, but that's a lot easier said than done.
For what it's worth, his 5.2-inning start on Monday, Aug. 24 saw him allow just two earned runs on five hits. As always, walks are a bit of an issue, so that's something that simply can't happen against an extremely patient Brewers team.
Rocker has a 6.00 ERA this month
Coming off a win is one thing, but stringing them together is another. He gave up six earned runs in what was just a three-inning start on August 9, so there are a lot of variables that come with his game.
Rocker's 6.00 ERA in August is his worst of the year, and now he has one final chance to get that back in the right direction before the month comes to an end. Being tasked with doing so against the Brewers is no easy feat, but if he wants to be part of a Rangers postseason run, he's going to have to step up his game in a big way.
