Why Texas split Marcus Semien-Corey Seager pair in batting order for first time

ARLINGTON — The Rangers broke up the Half a Billion Boys.

For the first time since they bought collectively, Marcus Semien and Corey Seager didn’t bat back-to-back when each have been in the Rangers lineup Monday evening. In a transfer with designed with twin functions in thoughts, supervisor Chris Woodward determined to insert Adolis García in the No. 2 spot between the 2.

The hope was that the Rangers may get off to a sooner begin towards lefty Framber Valdez and that the pitcher’s fastball-heavy combine would enable García to be barely extra aggressive on the plate.

While the Rangers need García to be extra disciplined towards pitches that he can’t deal with, they need to encourage him to remain aggressive in his sizzling zones. In the membership’s first 15 video games, Garcia took 13 fastballs over what is taken into account the center of the strike zone. That’s an space the place he can punish pitches.

“I’d like to get more attack,” Woodward mentioned. “But his DNA as a hitter has always been swing, swing, swing at everything that’s coming. And he’s been really good at trying to learn and understand what selective is. He’s got to trust his training and all the things he’s been working on and then he can put on the brakes when he needs to. But he’s got to dip his toe back in the deep end and get back a little more on the aggressive side.”

The first try didn’t get quick outcomes, however the swap did ultimately pay dividends.

In his first at-bat, García took a pair of sinkers out of the zone to get forward 2-0 then hit a 3rd consecutive sinker to second base for a floor out. In his second, García grounded out on the second pitch of the at-bat. He struck out in his third, chasing a pair of pitches beneath the zone.

Valdez, who makes use of his fastball extra usually than most others, is an effective matchup towards to encourage swinging early. He’s allowed hitters a .385 batting common once they put both the first or second pitch of the at-bat in play. The draw back: His fastball is a sinker and it could result in a whole lot of floor ball outs.

After Valdez left although, the rearranged high did get outcomes. In the seventh, because the Rangers took the lead, the Semien-García-Seager troika every had singles in a two-run rally. In the eighth, García’s bases-loaded double gave the Rangers the ultimate margin of victory.

In a pinch: The Rangers are discovering one other benefit to their outfield platoon association. It retains those that don’t begin extra concerned as a result of they’re comparatively sure they are going to seem in the sport in some unspecified time in the future.

Take the case of Willie Calhoun, for instance. He led off seventh as a pinch hitter for Nick Solak and started the rally with a double. He’s reached base 3 times in 5 pinch hit appearances, together with a homer. Prior to this season, Calhoun had been 4 for 23 as a pinch hitter with no extra-base hits.

“This is part of the role,” Calhoun mentioned. “The staff does a good job of letting you know what to expect and getting you prepared. My alarm started going off about two innings earlier. You know when you are going to get in. It’s easier to stay engaged.”

Briefly: Yordan Alvarez’s second-inning homer was his tenth in 106 profession at-bats towards the Rangers. … Adolis García’s leaping, back-handed game-saving catch of Seattle’s Julio Rodriguez’s line drive on Thursday was named the Chevrolet “Electric Play of the Week,” by Major League Baseball. The ball got here off the bat at 108 mph and had a .690 anticipated batting common. It was García’s first time to win the three-year-old award. … García began sporting a molded protect to guard his left hand after being hit on the highest of it on Sunday. … All 4 of the Rangers’ full-season farm golf equipment have been off on Monday.

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