Field Level Media
22 May 2023, 11:40 GMT+10
To see the disparity between the visiting Texas Rangers and the Pittsburgh Pirates entering their series that starts Monday, just look at both teams' recent performances.
Texas pounded Colorado 13-3 Sunday for a series sweep, making the Rangers 5-1-1 in their past seven series, 9-2-1 in their past 12. They have reached 12 games over .500 for the first time since the end of the 2016 season.
Pittsburgh fell to Arizona 8-3 Sunday and has gone 0-5-1 in its past six series. The Pirates, after reaching 12 games over .500 in April, have fallen back to two games over.
In the series opener, Texas right-hander Dane Dunning (4-0, 1.69 ERA) is scheduled to oppose Pittsburgh right-hander Luis Ortiz (0-2, 5.63).
Dunning, after eight relief appearances in April, has made three starts in May as he fills in for injured Jacob deGrom, going 2-0 with a 1.59 ERA, with 12 strikeouts against two walks in 17 innings.
Tuesday against Atlanta, Dunning gave up one run and six hits in six innings to pick up a win.
"What another great job by Dane," Texas manager Bruce Bochy said. "He looked strong early, his stuff was actually up a little bit. He just got better with the command and everything, the movement.
"Since he's stepped in the rotation, he has just been unbelievable."
Dunning had a career 4.43 ERA entering this season but has focused on changing his mental approach.
"I kind of went back last year just to look over things, and I think last year I kind of threw myself into a wall a little bit just being frustrated with some outings," Dunning said, adding that now, "once the game's over, it's over. There's nothing you can do about it except move on to the next."
Dunning has faced the Pirates once, in 2020, pitching six scoreless, three-hit innings in a win.
Ortiz, who has never faced the Rangers, was 0-2 in his first four big-league starts last season and has lost his two starts this year since his recall.
Most recently, Ortiz gave up four runs (three earned) and seven hits in three-plus innings Tuesday at Detroit.
"My plan was to attack hitters," Ortiz said through an interpreter. "Nothing went the way I wanted to. I just went out there and continued to compete and do my best in that situation."
Pirates manager Derek Shelton pinpointed Oritz's trouble.
"The fastball command was really inconsistent," Shelton said. "When he tried to go away, he missed in. When he tried to go in, he missed away. His fastball command, he never got in sync."
This could be Ortiz's last chance to prove himself this season, at least for a while. Pittsburgh starter Vince Velasquez, who is on the IL because of right elbow inflammation, made a successful first start Saturday on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Indianapolis and could return to the rotation as soon as this week.
--Field Level Media
Get a daily dose of Indianapolis Post news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Indianapolis Post.
More InformationWARSAW, Poland: Plans are underway in Poland to gradually raise the minimum wage twice in 2024. The wage plan has ...
BEIJING, China: China will put into commercial operation its first large passenger airliner, in a bid to challenge western plane ...
FRANKFURT, Germany - With U.S. and UK. markets closed for public holidays, it was left to European and broader global ...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: The Verge has reported that Verizon Communications met with more than 6,000 customer service employees ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: In response to a safety warning issued by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Vietnamese electric vehicle ...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: Electric truck manufacturer Nikola Corp said that Nasdaq has delivered a delisting notice for not ...
ZURICH, Switzerland: In one of the largest legal awards ever against Credit Suisse, the bank was ordered to pay $926 ...
DETROIT, Michigan: Amid broader global concerns over semiconductor chip supplies, sanctions and national security, Chinese commerce minister Wang Wentao said ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: The White House announced this week that President Joe Biden has chosen US Air Force chief General Charles ...
GUAM: After Typhoon Mawar brought strong winds and torrential rains, large areas of the US Western Pacific territory of Guam ...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: In one of the largest known Chinese cyber-espionage campaigns against American critical infrastructure, a state-sponsored ...
SAN FRANCISCO, California: Sam Altman, CEO of ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, has said the company could consider leaving Europe if it could ...