ARLINGTON -- The Rangers named Nick Martinez as their starter for Friday night's opener of a three-game series with the Angels. Martinez takes over for A.J. Griffin in the fifth spot in the rotation.
Martinez is 3-6 with a 5.40 ERA in 20 games (15 starts) this season. But he is 2-3 with a 2.76 ERA over seven career starts and two relief appearances against the Angels. He faced them on April 28 in Arlington and allowed three runs in six innings.
"We looked at the numbers and the pitch efficiency and a certain set of hitters, and the indicator pointed toward Nick," manager Jeff Banister said.
Griffin was 1-0 with a 3.86 ERA in two starts against the Angels this season. But he has struggled lately, going 0-3 with a 6.88 ERA in his last four starts.
Austin Bibens-Dirkx fell out of the running when he was used for 3 1/3 innings on 54 pitches in relief on Tuesday against the Mariners. The Rangers also have rookie left-hander Yohander Mendez, who was 7-8 with a 3.79 ERA in 24 starts at Double-A Frisco. But Banister said the Rangers aren't ready to pitch Mendez in this kind of situation.
Banister said he is planning to pitch Miguel Gonzalez on Sunday against the Angels. Gonzalez has allowed 11 runs in 5 1/3 innings in two starts since being acquired from the White Sox.
Worth noting
• Outfielder Carlos Gomez, who is sidelined with a sprained right ankle, has also started taking batting practice in the cage. His running is limited to the treadmill right now.
"You can see the passion in how much they want to get this done," Banister said. "There is no lack of effort."
• Tuesday night marked the first time this season that relievers Keone Kela, Jake Diekman and Matt Bush have all been on the active roster together.
• Rangers general manager Jon Daniels on the news that Japanese pitcher Shohei Ohtani will be posted to come to the Major Leagues this winter: "We'll deal with Seattle tonight, and deal with that in the winter."
• Willie Calhoun, the club's No. 2 prospect per MLBPipeline.com, had an RBI single in his first Major League at-bat on Tuesday night. The last Rangers rookie to do that was Joey Gallo against the White Sox on June 20, 2015.