Texas Rangers Set Pitching Schedule For Cactus League Spring Training Opening Weekend

Most Texas Rangers pitchers will work only one inning in their first Cactus League appearance, including Dane Dunning, who will start Friday's opener.

SURPRISE, Ariz. — The Texas Rangers have set their pitching schedule for the first several Cactus League games, including Friday's opener against the Kansas City Royals.

Dane Dunning will start at 1 p.m. Friday against the Royals.

Manager Bruce Bochy said others scheduled to pitch on Friday include: 

Cody Bradford, Jack Leiter, Danny Duffy, Zak Kent, Yerry Rodriguez, Antoine Kelly, and Marc Chuch. All are expected to pitch one inning, with the exception of the left-hander Bradford, who might throw two, Bochy said, depending on how his first inning goes.

Nathan Eovaldi will start Saturday's game, and Andrew Heaney will start on Sunday. Both are expected only to pitch an inning.

Eovaldi threw two innings in his first spring start a year ago. Bochy said Eovaldi and Martin Perez, at the time, were ahead of schedule preparing for the World Baseball Classic.

Bochy Day 8 ...
Assessing Jonah Heim's backup ... pic.twitter.com/9IK94gG7j1

— Stefan Stevenson (@StefanVersusTex) February 21, 2024

With much of the pitching staff pitching extended innings with the club's World Series title run, Bochy said the early spring workload could be lighter.

"We had a short offseason," Bochy said. "At the same time, you've got to get these guys ready when that bell rings. April is a big month. That's our plan. Depending on how that inning goes, as we go a little deeper in [spring], we may cut them back. We'll keep a watchful eye on these guys, but you can't change too much because we have to have them ready to go. We've got some guys on the mend, so we're going to be relying on these starters in April." 

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