Full name is Robert Charles Ross Jr. Signed by John Poloni (Rangers). Married to Brittany...Father, Chuck, was a 2nd-round selection by MIL in the 1975 June Draft. Graduated from Lexington Christian (KY) High School in 2008...Named 2008 Kentucky Gatorade Player of the Year after going 5-2, 1.51 ERA, 6 BB, 75 SO his senior year...As an infielder, batted .473 with 13 2B. Rated by Baseball America as the No. 43 overall prospect entering the 2008 June Draft and the No. 22 overall pitching prospect...Signed a letter of intent to attend and play baseball at the University of Kentucky.
2016
Averaged a career-best 9.11 SO/9.0 IP (56 SO/55.1 IP) in his 2nd season with the Red Sox. Held left-handed batters to a .188 AVG (15-for-80) with only 3 XBH (all doubles)...Extended his streak of left-handed batters faced without a homer to 163 (last HR by a LHH was 6/19/15 at KC, Hosmer)...His opponent AVG vs. lefties was 8th-lowest among AL pitchers with a minimum of 95 batters faced. Stranded 25 of 34 inherited runners (73.6%)...Allowed 0 runs in 42 of his 54 appearances (78%)...Retired 42 of 54 first batters faced (78%). Among Red Sox relievers, finished 3rd in appearances (54) and 2nd in innings (55.1). Held opponents to a .182 AVG (10-for-55) with RISP, including a .148 AVG (4-for-27) with RISP and 2 outs. After allowing a career-high 6 ER in 0.1 IP on 7/2 vs. LAA, went 3-1 with a 1.52 ERA (5 ER/29.2 IP) over his final 31 appearances of the year. Was 1-1, 2.22 ERA (6 ER/24.1 IP) in 27 road appearances and 2-1, 4.06 ERA (14 ER/31.0 IP) in 27 home games. Made a single-month season-high 12 appearances in August and posted a 1.54 ERA (2 ER/11.2 IP) with 11 SO. POSTSEASON: Made his postseason debut in Game 2 of the ALDS at CLE...Entered in the 6th inning and struck out the only batter he faced (Lonnie Chisenhall).
2015
Made the Red Sox' Opening Day roster in his 1st season with the club...Appeared in 54 games over 5 separate stints with BOS. Made his Red Sox debut on 4/8 at PHI. Held LHB to a .224 AVG (19-for-85), a single-season career best...Allowed only 2 HR to lefties all year, and no XBH over his final 19 games of the season (29 batters faced). Posted a 3.26 ERA (7 ER/19.1 IP) and a 1.09 WHIP (17 H, 4 BB) over his final 23 appearances of the season beginning 8/6...Had a 4.14 ERA (19 ER/41.1 IP) and a 1.40 WHIP (42 hits, 16 BB) over his first 31 games of the year. Averaged 7.9 SO/9.0 IP (53 SO/60.2 IP) on the year, including 9.3 SO/9.0 IP (20 SO/19.1 IP) over his last 23 games. Led Sox relievers and finished T-7th among all AL relievers with 8 opponent GIDP. Recorded a career-high 6 saves in 8 chances...Earned his 1st ML save on 9/4 vs. PHI...Both of his blown saves came in the 7th inning or earlier...Finished T-2nd on the staff with 12 holds. Recorded at least 1 SO in a career-best 17 consecutive appearances from 5/22-8/2 (26 SO in 29.0 IP)...Was the longest such streak by a left-handed Red Sox reliever since 1914...Struck out a career-high 4 batters (in relief) on 7/10 vs. NYY (3.2 IP). Was moved into the closer's role on 9/13 and went 5-for-5 in save chances for the remainder of the season...Recorded a save in 4 consecutive appearances from 9/19-27. Held opponents to a .244 AVG (19-for-78) with RISP, including a .154 mark (2-for-13) spanning his final 9 games. Made 4 relief appearances for Triple-A Pawtucket...Pitched in 2 games in both May and June.
2014
Made the Rangers' Opening Day roster for the 3rd straight season and began the year working out of the rotation...Started the Rangers' 3rd game of the season, 4/2 at PHI (ND, 5.0 IP, 2 ER), a 4-3 win...Was 1-0, 1.00 ERA (2 ER, 18.0 IP) with 13 SO over his 1st three starts of the year from 4/2-15 (2-1 team record)...Did not issue a walk in 3 consecutive starts, 4/15-25 (19.0 IP)...Overall, faced 99 consecutive batters (21.1 IP) from 4/9-30 without walking a batter...Went 0-4, 6.97 ERA (24 ER/31.0 IP) over his next 6 starts, from 4/20-5/17 and was moved into the bullpen after his start on 5/17 vs. TOR...Allowed runs in 5 of his next 9 appearances in relief and was optioned to Triple-A Round Rock on 6/17...Pitched in 9 games for Round Rock, with 8 coming as a starter...Recalled by TEX to make a spot start on 8/14 vs. TB (L, 4.1 IP, 6 ER)...Optioned back to Round Rock on 8/15...In 3 appearances (1 start) after being optioned, posted a 1.42 ERA (2 ER/12.2 IP) with 2 BB and 10 SO and was recalled by TEX on 8/30...Made a spot start that night vs. HOU and did not allow a hit in 5.0 innings of work (ND, 3 BB, 5 SO)...Appeared in 7 more games to end the season, 6 in relief and 1 start.
2013
Completed his 2nd campaign in the Texas bullpen, appearing in the 3rd-most games (65) of any Texas reliever… permitted just one run over his first 24 games to compile the lowest ERA (0.37) among all ML relievers through the end of May...had a 19.2-inning scoreless streak from April 13-May 30, T2nd-longest among left-handed A.L. relievers in 2013 (TB's Alex Torres, 20.0 IP)…suffered first career loss on June 1 vs. KC, allowing 3 runs in the 10th inning of a 4-1 loss … was first blemish on previously 8-0 career record, ending the 2nd-longest win streak ever by a Ranger to begin a career (9, Jeff Zimmerman in 1999)…permitted HR to Ichiro Suzuki on June 26 at NYY, first HR allowed since July 30, 2012 vs. LAA, ending streak of 54 homerless appearances, 7th-longest in club history … was tied for the 5th-most (38) appearances by an A.L. pitcher through June 30…matched career high with 4 runs allowed (also July 30, 2012 vs. LAA) and did not retire a batter on Sept. 4 at OAK ... issued walk to lone batter faced on Sept. 10 vs. PIT and was charged with earned run when that runner later scored, ending career-opening Interleague scoreless streak at 18.0 innings (16 games)…it was the 3rd-longest such streak in major league history behind Francisco Rodriguez (22.0 IP) and Craig Kimbrel (27.2 IP)…completed at least 2.0 innings 3 times, including season-high 2.1 innings on Sept. 19 at TB.
2012
Tied for 3rd on the staff with 58 appearances while
spending his entire rookie season with the Rangers...among
A.L. relievers, tied for the 6th most wins with 6 and had the 7th
lowest ERA at 2.22 (min. 50.0 IP), the latter figure being the lowest on the staff among all pitchers with at least 40.0 innings...
was also the 4th lowest ERA in the A.L. among all pitchers with
at least 60.0 innings...overall, had 8th most appearances among
A.L. rookies...his 6 wins were the 4th most ever for a Rangers
rookie reliever while his 58 games tied for 7th highest...had the
2nd most wins without a loss of any ML pitcher behind the White
Sox' Nate Jones (8-0)...permitted 10 of 45 inherited runners to
score (22.2%), the 10th-best percentage in the A.L...tied Jones
for lead among A.L. relievers with 11 grounded into double plays.
SUMMARY: Made the club after compiling a 1.50 ERA (2
ER/12.0 IP) in 9 spring training appearances...made his ML
debut with a scoreless 8th inning on April 8 vs. CWS...fanned
Paul Konerko in that inning for 1st big league strikeout...worked
3.2 scoreless innings in his 1st 3 outings with a 1.54 ERA (5 R/2
ER/11.2 IP) in his 1st 9 games through May 4...allowed 3 runs in
5.1 innings in his next 4 games and was at 2.65 on May 14...did
not issue an earned run (2 unearned runs) in 22 games and 30.1
innings spanning 2 months from May 17-July 17 to drop season
ERA from 2.65 to 0.95...did not permit a run in final 18 games
and 24.0 innings of that stretch beginning May 29, matching the
4th longest A.L. scoreless streak in 2012 and the longest for a
Ranger since Darren O'Day (26.1 IP), June 3-Aug. 13, 2010...
posted a 4.73 ERA (7 ER/13.1 IP) in next 17 games, rising to
1.78, before going on DL on Sept. 1 (retroactive to Aug. 30) with
a left forearm strain...activated on Sept. 15 and permitted 4 runs
in 4.1 innings in final 6 appearances.
FIRST HALF SUCCESS: Recorded his 1st 2 major league
victories on consecutive days in his 2nd and 3rd big league outings, April 14-15 at MIN...became the 1st pitcher in franchise
history to win both his 1st 2 ML decisions and record his 1st
2 big league victories in consecutive games...was the 7th time
overall that a Rangers pitcher had recorded wins in back-toback games, the 1st since Wes Littleton, Aug. 28-29, 2007...
had 4 victories in his 6 outings through April 25, becoming the
1st pitcher since at least 1918 to record 4 relief wins over his 1st
6 career appearances...was also the 1st reliever in club history
with at least 4 relief wins in Texas' 1st 19 games...his 4 wins
through April 25 tied for the overall ML lead...all 6 of his wins
came in 1st 23 career appearances through June 10, the 1st
reliever with as many as 6 victories in 1st 23 ML games since
California's Mark Clear (6 in 22) and Yankees' Ron Davis (8 in
22), both in 1979...had a 0.95 ERA (5 ER/47.1 IP) at the All-Star
break, the 4th-lowest ERA at the break (minimum 40.0 innings)
in major league history (since All-Star Game was 1st played in
1933) behind Boston's Jonathan Papelbon (0.59 in 2006), Boston's Hideki Okajima (0.83 in 2007), and Texas' Jeff Zimmerman
(0.86 in 1999).
MISCELLANEOUS: Allowed runs in 11 of 58 outings and
permitted 17 of 58 1st batters to reach base...did not have a
save opportunity...opponents hit .232, .225 vs. LHB and .237 vs.
RHB...was 1-0, 2.86 (11 ER/34.2 IP) in 33 games in Arlington
and 5-0, 1.48 (5 ER/30.1 IP) in 25 contests on the road...pitched
13.1 scoreless innings in 9 interleague games...had 3 strikeouts
on occasions: April 15 at MIN, Aug. 1 vs. LAA, and Aug. 18 at
TOR...recorded more than 3 outs 18 times...stranded multiple
inherited runners 12 times but allowed 6 of last 14 IR to score...
had season highs of 45 pitches and 4.0 shutout innings on June
10 at SF...scored a run in that game, the 1st Texas reliever to
cross the plate since Ogando on June 17, 2010 at FLA...permitted just 3 HR all year, including back-to-back shots by J.J. Hardy
and Nick Markakis on May 8 at BAL...wore no. 46 through outing
on July 30, and was no. 28 thereafter when club acquired Ryan
Dempster from Cubs.
2011
Split the season between Myrtle Beach (High-A) and Frisco
(AA), combining to go 10-5 with a 2.34 ERA (42 ER/161.1 IP) and
134 strikeouts against 33 walks over 27 games/26 starts...tallied
the 2nd-most strikeouts and 2nd-lowest ERA in the organization,
while recording the 3rd-most victories among Texas farmhands...
combined to hold opposing left-handed batters to a .167 (23-138)
average with just 5 extra-base hits (4 2B, 1 3B), while opponents
hit .228 (135-592) overall.
MYRTLE BEACH: Opened the campaign in Myrtle Beach,
where he earned Carolina League Pitcher of the Year honors and
a spot on the circuit's Post-Season All-Star Team...named to
Baseball America's High Class A All-Star Team and was selected
as the 17th-best prospect in the Carolina League following the
season...posted the lowest qualifying ERA in the CL, while also
ranking among the league leaders in WHIP (2nd, 1.05) and wins
(T7th)...tallied a quality start in 12 of his 20 starts with the Pelicans,
including 9 of his last 11 outings.
FRISCO: Promoted to Frisco on Aug. 1...allowed 3 runs or less
in each of his 6 starts with the 'Riders and completed 7.0 innings
3 times...surrendered 5 home runs, accounting for 6 of 11 earned
runs allowed...registered a career-high 12 strikeouts in his lone
playoff start on Sept. 7 at San Antonio.
2010
Split regular season between Hickory (A) and Bakersfield
(High-A) before finishing the campaign with Frisco for the Texas
League playoffs...selected as the starting pitcher for the North Division
in the South Atlantic League All-Star game...recorded the
2nd-most victories and posted the 4th-lowest ERA among Texas
farmhands...combined to go 12-11 with a 3.58 ERA (58 ER/146.0
IP) and 111 strikeouts over 27 starts...held opposing right-handed
batters to a .248 average (115-464), while opponents hit .267 (156-
584) overall...opened the season with Hickory, recording 9 quality
starts...allowed one-run-or-less in 9 of 16 starts...recorded 6
straight quality starts from May 22-June 18...placed on disabled
list July 2 with left hamstring strain...activated from the disabled
list on July 9 and promoted to Bakersfield...won 4 of first 6 starts ... Selected by Texas in the 2nd round of the 2008 June draft...signed by John Poloni on Aug. 15, 2008.
continued
with the Blaze...registered a season-high 8 strikeouts on July 18
vs. Visalia...totaled 3 quality starts with the Blaze...promoted to
Frisco on September 8...suffered loss in lone playoff start on Sept.
11 at Midland, allowing 7 runs over 3.0 innings and recording 4
strikeouts
2009
Spent entire season with Spokane...named to
the Northwest League Postseason All-Star team...tabbed as the
7th-best prospect in the Northwest League by Baseball America
following the season...ranked among the league leaders in ERA
(4th) and strikeouts (5th)...limited lefties to a .228 average (18-
79), while opponents batted .240 (68-283) overall...averaged 3.21
ground outs for every one fly ball out...recorded 9-or-more strikeouts
in 3 of first 4 starts...went 2-0, 0.45 (1 ER/20.0 IP) over 4
starts from July 5-21, lowering season ERA from 4.70 to 2.29...
worked a season-high 6.0 innings on 2 occasions, recording a pair
of quality starts...posted a 0.82 ERA (1ER/11.0 IP) over final 2
starts.
2008
Became the second overall selection by Texas in
June draft, but did not see official game action after signing just
prior to Aug. 15 deadline...participated in the Arizona fall instructional
league.
