ARLINGTON -- On Thursday afternoon, hours before first pitch of the Rangers’ series finale against the Red Sox, second-year starting pitcher Kumar Rocker did PFPs by himself with a small contingent of Texas coaches.
At 6-foot-5 and 245 pounds, Rocker is an imposing, athletic force on the mound who has been relatively flawed throughout his second full big league season. One of his biggest flaws has been his ability to field his position consistently, specifically as it pertains to covering first base on ground balls to the right side.
On the very first play of Friday’s opener vs. the Blue Jays, Rocker moved off the mound as Brett Bateman connected with a slow roller to the right of Texas first baseman Jake Burger. Rocker sprinted to the bag, collecting Burger’s toss just in time for the first out of the game.
Rocker wasn’t perfect in his 29th game of the season. But starting opposite American League Cy Young contender Dylan Cease, he didn’t need to be perfect. He needed to put the Rangers in a position to win.
The 26-year-old allowed one run in 4 1/3 innings on Friday night, helping the Rangers to a 7-1 victory over the Blue Jays at Globe Life Field.
The win, coupled with the Astros’ loss to the Braves, allowed the Rangers to pull back even with Houston in the American League West at 77-77 -- though the Astros hold the tiebreaker -- while sitting one game back of the final AL Wild Card spot.
Rocker, much like his last start in Arizona, was cruising through the first part of his outing. On Friday, he allowed just two baserunners in the first four innings, both on singles through the left side of the infield. Then, exactly like his start against the Diamondbacks, he walked the first two batters he faced in the fifth.
A double to nine-hole hitter Myles Straw got the Blue Jays on the board and ended Rocker’s day, leaving the bullpen to cover the rest of the game. Tyler Alexander immediately stranded the inherited runners from Rocker before Trevor Williams -- who joined the club on Sept. 1 -- closed it out with four scoreless innings to keep the bullpen relatively fresh for the final two games of the series.