Here We Go Again! Texas Rangers Reliever Leaves Early With Apparent Injury

The Texas Rangers’ pitching woes continued in Game 2 of their doubleheader against the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday when Josh Sborz left with an apparent injury.

May 4, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Texas Rangers pitcher Josh Sborz. / William Purnell-USA TODAY Sports

Texas Rangers reliever Josh Sborz left the second game of their doubleheader with the Oakland Athletics with an apparent injury on Wednesday.

Sborz entered the game in the sixth inning with the Rangers leading, 7-6. He threw eight pitches, including a four-pitch walk issued to Brett Harris. Then, Rangers trainer Matt Lucero and pitching coach Mike Maddux went to the mound to check on him.

Rangers manager Bruce Bochy started his way out to the mound, but before he got there Sborz, Lucero and Maddux were heading to the dugout.

Bochy said after the game that Sborz left with shoulder tightness and would be re-evaluated in Colorado, where the Rangers start a series on Friday.

The Rangers replaced Sborz with David Robertson, who got out of that jam and threw two scoreless innings.

Sborz went on the injured list on April 7 with a rotator cuff strain. After a short rehab assignment with Double-A Frisco, he was activated on April 25 and returned to his role as a set-up man for the bullpen.

When he’s been able to pitch, he’s been sharp. He is 1-0 with a 1.69 ERA in seven games. He’s thrown 5 1/3 innings, giving up six hits, two runs (one earned) with five strikeouts and three walks.

Sborz was a huge part of the Rangers’ run to the World Series in the postseason, as he recorded the final out in Game 5 against Arizona.

The Rangers are dealing with a litany of pitching injuries at the moment, most of which are in their starting rotation. Six starters are hurt, with four of them on the 15-day injured list — Cody Bradford, Dane Dunning, Nathan Eovaldi and Max Scherzer.

Robertson and Kirby Yates have been lights out for the Rangers at the back end of the bullpen, though Yates gave up his first runs of the season in the second game of the doubleheader.

But losing Sborz for any length of time would sap depth from a group that is starting to look overworked. To that end the Rangers signed reliever Kyle Barraclough to a minor-league deal, a pitcher with nine years of experience in the Majors.