Texas Rangers Bullpen Games Emerging as Brilliant Rotation Stopgap

ARLINGTON — The Texas Rangers are down a starter in Nathan Eovaldi. For the second straight turn, Bruce Bochy turned to a bullpen game.

For the second straight turn, the bullpen was brilliant.

Texas’ 3-1 win featured the Rangers (34-36) using seven different relievers to give the starting rotation more rest and to stopgap Eovaldi’s absence in the rotation.

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“It’s a good bullpen. They’ve done a good job all year,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. “They’ve been moved around in their roles, and they don’t care. They don’t care how it gets done.”

On Sunday in Washington, the Rangers employed the tactic to take Eovaldi’s spot and give Tyler Mahle an extra day of rest. Jacob Latz drew the start, with Jacob Webb, Hoby Milner, Shawn Armstrong and Robert Garcia coming after him. They held the Nationals to two runs on seven hits, walked two and struck out 11. The Rangers won, 4-2.

Armstrong was involved again on Friday, but this time as a starter. Bochy told Armstrong on Thursday night that he would be the starter. He also went with Armstrong because of the right-hander’s experience as an opener.

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Armstrong learned the role in Tampa Bay, where the franchise uses openers regularly. In his first 16 starts, he had a 1.14 ERA, which was the lowest starter ERA of any pitcher during the live ball era (starting in 1920) with a minimum of 16 games.

The 34-year-old right-hander did nothing to hurt that ERA. He threw three perfect innings and struck out five hitters.

“I was working with the same game plan that we’ve had for the last month and a half, so I just kept it simple,” Armstrong said. “The catchers [Jonah Heim and Kyle Higashioka] have done a great job all year. I don’t think I’ve shaken them off once. I just trust them and try to fill up the zone.

From there, it was Webb for two innings. Bochy said the hope was to get five innings out of the pair.

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After that, it was Luke Jackson, Hoby Milner, Chris Martin, Cole Winn and Robert Garcia. Combined they allowed six hits, one run (earned) and struck out nine. They allowed two walks, both of which came in the ninth inning when Garcia pitched himself into a bases-loaded jam and got out of it.

The Rangers rarely employ the tactic, but after Bochy confirmed he will use a bullpen game in Sunday’s finale against Chicago, they will have done so three times in eight days. There are several reasons.

Eovaldi is not ready to be activated from the 15-day injured list with right posterior elbow inflammation. He was eligible on Friday but is throwing a bullpen on Saturday after he returned to Texas to have additional tests, which revealed no additional damage.

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Friday’s bullpen game gave Jacob deGrom an extra day of rest. He’ll start on Saturday. Sunday’s game comes before an off day on Monday. A bullpen game on Sunday means that Mahle, Jack Leiter and Patrick Corbin will get an extra day. The off day allows deGrom an extra day of rest before his next start, presumably on June 20 in Pittsburgh.

The Rangers wouldn’t need a fresh starter until June 21, which gives Eovaldi another week to ramp up. Texas hopes that he’s ready by then, or it may be another bullpen game.

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