Texas Rangers Yet to Name Starter for Mariners Finale

The Texas Rangers haven't listed who will take Jacob deGrom's next turn in the rotation Wednesday at the Seattle Mariners.

Andrew Heaney will be the Texas Rangers’ starting pitcher on Tuesday at the Seattle Mariners.

But who will it be on Wednesday?

It should be Dane Dunning, who put together a sharp outing Friday in his first start in place of Jacob deGrom, who is on the injured list with right elbow inflammation.

But the Rangers haven’t set a probable starter in their game notes as of Monday afternoon. Those notes listed Jon Gray as the series-opening starter (Texas won 2-1) and Heaney (2-2, 5.52) on Tuesday.

George Kirby (3-2, 3.11) starts for Seattle for the second game of the series. First pitch is scheduled for 8:40 p.m. CT.

While the Rangers lost his first start in place of deGrom, 5-4 in 10 innings, it had nothing to do with Dunning’s performance.

It’s also worth noting that before the Rangers officially named Dunning the starter in place of deGrom on Friday. The game notes for Wednesday featured a TBA for the Friday game.

Dunning threw five shutout innings, giving up two hits and a walk while striking out three. He left the game with a 3-0 lead, which the bullpen lost in the late innings.

Dunning threw 72 pitches, and that may be the only reason why the Rangers haven’t officially listed Dunning as the probable starter for the Seattle series finale. That was Dunning’s highest pitch total of the season.

He did throw 60 or more pitches twice in relief. He also had a 52-pitch appearance on April 28 as he replaced deGrom. But the rest of his appearances featured 35 pitches or fewer.

Given the Rangers inconsistent bullpen, Dunning may have to throw more than five innings if he starts Wednesday and the club wants to ensure he’s stretched out properly. He would be throwing on a starter’s normal five days’ rest. He had six days’ rest before his start against the Angels.

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