It wasn’t the ideal opening weekend for the Rangers. Losing three out of four at home to the division rival Houston Astros isn’t the start that most would have liked, but it’s not too far off from what most expected, sadly. Now the team gets to head out on the road for the first time this season as they ready for a four game series in the Bay Area against the Oakland Athletics.
Not that this was ever in doubt, but Bartolo Colon is officially listed as tomorrow's starter against the Athletics.
— Jared Sandler (@SandlerJ) April 1, 2018
Projected starting pitchers and series schedule
Monday, 9:05 CT: Bartolo Colon RHP (season debut) vs. Andrew Tiggs RHP (season debut)
Tuesday, 9:05 CT: Cole Hamels (0-1, 4.76 ERA) vs. Kendall Graveman (0-0, 9.0 ERA)
Wednesday, 9:05 CT: Doug Fister (1-0, 1.80 ERA) vs. Sean Manaea (0-1, 1.17 ERA)
Thursday, 2:35 CT: Martin Perez (season debut) vs. Daniel Mengden (0-1, 7.94 ERA)
A pair of Rangers pitchers will be making their season debut in this series as Bartolo Colon will be called-up from Triple A Round Rock for Monday’s game and Martin Perez will be activated off the 10 day disabled list to make his first start on Thursday afternoon. These two being inserted into the starting rotation will provide fans their first chance to see the six-man rotation the coaching staff warned us about this season. Matt Moore and Mike Minor will be the first starters to try to pitch on six days of rest as their next starts get pushed back to Friday and Saturday when Texas returns home later this week for a weekend series with the Toronto Blue Jays.
Opening weekend saw the Rangers quickly suffer their first major injury of the year as Delino DeShields went on the disabled list after fracturing a hamate bone in his left hand during an at-bat on Friday night. Who else had never heard of a hamate bone before this? In DeShield’s absence so far, manager Jeff Banister has used Carlos Tocci and Drew Robinson as the starting center fielders so far. Robinson showed a bit more at the plate as he hit a solo home run in Sunday’s 8-2 loss to the Astros. If the Rangers had to pick a position that they’d least like to lose someone to injury, it was definitely center field. With tons of “depth” in the corner outfield spots, Texas knows it probably doesn’t have its long-term answer in center field on its current roster. Maybe one of the fill-ins will take advantage of this opportunity and open some eyes.
The A’s hosted the Los Angeles Angels to open the season and were the first team to get a regular season taste of the Shohei Ohtani experience over the weekend. He was in the lineup on Opening Day and notched a hit in his first at-bat, but he looked solid in his first career start during Sunday’s 7-4 Angels win.
The Rangers should fear A’s slugger Khris Davis as his 18 homers in 37 career games against Texas are the most he has against any other opponent in Major League Baseball. The Rangers should also dread playing in Oakland as their 1-8 record there in 2017 would suggest. Former Athletic Bartolo Colon will get the first crack at righting the ship at 9:05 Monday night in Oakland.
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