ARLINGTON -- The last thing the Rangers needed was another quasi-bullpen game.
With an overworked bullpen in the final stretch of a postseason push, “all hands on deck” has truly been the name of the game for Texas this week. It didn’t go as planned on Saturday, though.
Rangers starter Cal Quantrill left Saturday’s start against the Blue Jays with one out in the second inning with right lat tightness. Long relief man Jordan Montgomery, who threw 16 pitches out of the bullpen just two days ago, took over after Quantrill departed.
Quantrill left his last start in Arizona after six innings due to back tightness that cropped up midway through the game, but the concern level was low both that day and throughout the weekend leading up to Saturday’s start.
Quantrill has been one of the Rangers’ most consistent pitchers since he was called up from Triple-A Round Rock on April 15. He’s made 14 starts for Texas this season, all since Jack Leiter landed on the injured list on June 21 after ankle surgery. Quantrill has gone 6-4 with a 2.51 ERA in those outings, including a 1.82 ERA in his last nine starts since July 28. He had a career-high six consecutive quality starts entering Saturday.
A Rangers reliever has tossed four or more scoreless innings in three straight games leading up to Quantrill’s departure on Saturday: Nathan Eovaldi (4.0 IP Wed. vs. BOS), Cody Bradford (4.1 IP on Thurs. vs. BOS), and Trevor Williams (4.0 IP Fri. vs. TOR).
According to Elias, it marks the first time in Rangers history that an individual reliever has thrown four or more scoreless innings in three straight games.