Rangers Reveal Why Cal Quantrill Left Blue Jays Game

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Texas Rangers announced that Cal Quantrill left Saturday night’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays with right lat tightness. The right-hander came out with one out in the second inning at Globe Life Field.

Before the game, Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said every Texas starter was day-to-day. He also said Saturday’s start would be the first time he had seen Quantrill throw with any intent since his back tightened Sept. 13 at Arizona.

Left-hander Jordan Montgomery replaced Quantrill, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reported. Montgomery had thrown 16 pitches out of the bullpen two days earlier.

Skip Schumaker Said Rangers Were Only Watching Catch Play

Schumaker made the pregame comments on The Skip Schumaker Show, the segment Rangers Sports Network posts before each game. Catch play and very limited bullpens were all the Rangers had been watching from their starters, he said.

“I think all our starters right now, quite honestly, are day-to-day and talking with each one of them and seeing how they feel,” Schumaker said. “Their catch play and their very, very limited bullpens are kind of the only thing that we’re watching, but they’re not real intense. So when you watch him throw tonight, it will be the first time I’ll see him throw with any sort of intent behind it.”

“He says he feels ready to go. So I think at this point of the season, he’s just ready to go out and fight,” Schumaker continued. “And that’s just kind of who he is. His mentality is whatever the team needs, I’m going to give everything he has, and he’s going to do that.”

Quantrill threw a scoreless first inning. His last pitch, which got the first out of the second, was a four-seamer at 87.8 mph, Landry reported. He has averaged 93.8 mph on that pitch this season.

Schumaker, pitching coach Jordan Tiegs, and head trainer Matt Lucero went to the mound after that pitch, The Dallas Morning News reported. Quantrill left after a brief conversation with them.

On Sept. 13 at Chase Field, Quantrill’s back tightened after the fifth inning of a 7-6 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. He finished 6 innings and allowed 2 earned runs on 5 hits, with 0 walks and 4 strikeouts on 70 pitches. He threw about 10 pitches off the slope Thursday before being cleared for Saturday.

Quantrill told the Rangers he would make his next start, Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young said Sept. 14 on 105.3 The Fan’s G-Bag Nation.

“I think Cal will be fine,” Young said. “It’s that point in the season where guys are really pushing through it. They know what’s at stake, and they’re all dealing with some level of aches and pains, and their bodies have been through a lot, and they’re fighting through it.”

Including Saturday’s 1 1/3 scoreless innings, Quantrill has a 2.87 ERA over 109 2/3 innings this season. He entered the night 9-5 with 81 strikeouts over 31 appearances, 14 of them starts.

Texas Rangers Rotation Has Been Day-To-Day Since Last Week

On Tuesday at Seattle, Jacob deGrom made his first start since groin tightness. He went 5 innings and allowed 3 hits, 2 runs, and 1 walk with 8 strikeouts on 92 pitches, and Schumaker said afterward that deGrom did not feel 100%. deGrom starts Sunday’s series finale at 1:35 p.m. CT.

MacKenzie Gore said Saturday that he plans to make his next start after muscle spasms Wednesday against Boston, as long as the next few days of throwing go fine, Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News reported. Gore also came out of a May 18 start at Coors Field after one inning with left lat tightness. He reported soreness the next day and pitched five days later, The Dallas Morning News reported.

The Rangers are weighing Nathan Eovaldi‘s health and role on a day-to-day basis. Texas used Tyler Alexander as an opener Thursday against the Boston Red Sox. On Friday, Kumar Rocker lasted 4 1/3 innings before the bullpen covered the rest.

Entering Saturday, Texas was 77-77 and tied with the Houston Astros for first place in the American League West, with Houston holding the tiebreaker. The Rangers were also 1 game behind the Chicago White Sox for the third and final American League wild card, according to MLB.com’s postseason tracker. Texas is off Monday before the New York Mets come to town.