Wieters gets rare night off
ARLINGTON -- Catcher Matt Wieters wasn't in Tuesday's starting lineup, with manager Buck Showalter giving him a day off in the middle of nine consecutive night games, and also working backup Taylor Teagarden into the mix.
Was it hard to sit Wieters, who had gone 8-for-17 with two doubles, a homer, five runs scored and two RBIs over the past four games?
"It's as much a reason to keep it that way, too, physically," Showalter said. "We talked about it a couple days ago, where we were going to go. Just thought this was a good fit. I knew he was going to get one day off through this road trip because the schedule is, as usual, not as [it] should be."
Wieters, who historically has gotten better offensively as the season goes on, is on a five-game hitting streak. Having him clicking offensively helps provide some lineup protection behind slugger Chris Davis.
Teagarden last started on July 6.