Article author:
Reuters
The Washington Nationals right fielder Juan Soto's downseason hasn't fooled the Texas Rangers.
Soto defeated the Rangers 2-1 and the Nationals 2-1 in the opening round of the series on Friday night in Arlington, Texas.
Game 2 of the Interleague series will be set on Saturday afternoon with Josiah Gray (6-4, 3.95 ERA) starting the Nationals. Texas goes with Matt Bush (2-1, 4.05) as an opener. Rangers left-handed Taylor Hearn (4-5, 6.25) is expected to win multiple innings with confidence.
Soto has a batting average of only 0.214, while Slugger has 14 home runs and an on-base percentage of .363.
"What's wrong with him?" Rangers manager Chris Woodward said when asked about Soto. "He is clearly a very talented batter. How he hits baseball. He uses the entire field. He hits the ball in the center left like a right-handed batter."
Soto wants to offer some attack to Gray, who is off to the 14th start of the season. He was 4-0 at the age of 24 and hit 33 with an ERA of 1.89 six times this year and walked 13 in 33 1/3 innings.
Gray, one of the promising young core pitchers of the Washington team being rebuilt, is enjoying the powerful moon of June. With three starts this month, he scored 1-0, ERA 0.53 and 17 innings with 2 runs (1 goal).
The Rangers wasted a lot of chances on Friday and won 0-11 against the scoring runners. In the 9th inning, 10 people including the runners in the corner were stranded. Texas won two games in a row, while Washington won a third in four games.
Texas center fielder Adolis García lost in his 14th home run and threw Nelson Cruz on the plate in the 4th inning for outstanding defensive play.
Both teams were off Thursday before opening the three-match set on Friday.
On a day off, the Rangers traded with the San Francisco Giants. They acquired outfielder Steven Duggar for outfielder Willie Calhoun. Willie Calhoun requested a trade in May after being sent to Triple A Round Rock.
Woodward said Dagger is expected to be available on Sunday.
The dagger provides the depth of the outfield. This 28-year-old woman has been on her injured list since late April due to her diagonal left injury.
A left-handed and right-handed dagger project to replace Eli White's role, which was moved to the 60-day injured list on Tuesday. White, who broke her right wrist, first attended the 10-day IL on June 13.
"Steven Duggar is a powerful all-round baseball player who can add value to the team in different ways," said John Daniels, Rangers President of the baseball business. I said later. "With Eli's injury, I think his skill set fits well with our roster."
The Nationals are right-handed on Friday and have been with IL since mid-June. We have provided the latest information on the situation of Stephen Strasburg. A 33-year-old man is working on a rib stress response associated with recovery of his chest exit.
"He's painless and can't do anything until he feels better," said Mike Rizzo, general manager of the Nationals. “You don't have to be in a hurry to put together a plan.”
– Field-level media
