ARLINGTON, TX - APRIL 20: Shin-Soo Choo #17 of the Texas Rangers hits double in the sixth inning against the Seattle Mariners at Globe Life Park in Arlington on April 20, 2018 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Rick Yeatts/Getty Images) Entering the confident confines of Globe Life Park are the Pittsburgh Pirates tonight and tomorrow. The Texas Rangers will try to stay hot at home. The Texas Rangers scored more runs in their last two games than the Pittsburgh Pirates have scored in their last 11. Just thought I’d begin with that fun stat. Does that mean Texas will outscore Pittsburgh over the next two days? No. But you certainly have to like a hot offense vs. a struggling one. The matchup is interesting, really. Pittsburgh has the 7th best team ERA in Major League Baseball while the Texas staff ranks 29th. The Rangers offense is best in MLB averaging 6.0 runs per game while the Pirates offense ranks 28th averaging 3.23. It seems we’re in for an unpredictable series. Then there’s the fact that the Texas Rangers are 10-4 at home this season, averaging close to seven runs per game. The Pirates are a modest 6-6 on the road. Matchups Tonight: Adrian Sampson (4.50 ERA) vs. Jordan Lyles (2.05 ERA) Sampson will get his first nod since April 20th against the Houston Astros. He pitched well that evening, allowing two earned runs on seven hits in 4.1 innings pitched. A lengthy outing from him would be appreciated, but it’s not essential. Seven innings pitched from Mike Minor on Saturday, seven innings from Lance Lynn on Sunday and a day off yesterday should have the bullpen ready to take on any load necessary. Lyles has one road outing this year. He tossed six innings, allowed run one and struck out 10 Chicago Cubs in an April 10th start at Wrigley Field. While he dominated left-handed hitters in 2018, he’s struggled against them thus far in 2019, giving up a slash line of .275/.326/.525. Wednesday: Shelby Miller (7.52 ERA) vs. Jameson Taillon (4.06 ERA) Miller’s stats still look rough; however, he’s softened the eye test in each of his last two starts. He was hitting 97 mph on the gun against the Mariners on Friday. He was also spotting his curveball better than in past starts. Still, control was a lasting issue. He afforded five base on balls to Mariners’ hitters, getting him into trouble towards the end of his five innings pitched. Taillon has been considerably better at home than on the road. His road ERA is nearly a full point higher, and his opponent’s batting average is 65 points higher. He has been outstanding against left-handed hitters, keeping them to a .207 batting average and .276 SLG. Ancillary Storyline Jeff Banister will return to Globe Life Park for the first time since his firing last September. He took on a special assistant role with Pittsburgh in the offseason. He did a lot of good while managing the Rangers, but his time here ended abruptly. Given each end of the spectrum, the reaction to his return will likely be met with indifference. That said, surely Banister’s former players and the Rangers’ new skipper will want to show that they’re on a fine path without him. We’ll see if the club’s intentions are expressed with active bats and stellar arms later on tonight.<doc-sep>ARLINGTON, TEXAS - APRIL 30: Michael Feliz #45 of the Pittsburgh Pirates throws against the Texas Rangers in the seventh inning at Globe Life Park in Arlington on April 30, 2019 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) Texas Rangers 4 Pittsburgh Pirates 6 The Pittsburgh Pirates picked up a much needed come from behind victory over the Texas Rangers on Tuesday night. The Pittsburgh Pirates have won a baseball game! On Tuesday night, the Pirates kicked off their brief two-game series in Arlington with a 6-4 victory over the Texas Rangers. This victory snapped the Pirates 8 game losing streak. With the win, the Pirates will finish the month of April with a 13-14 record. This record, however, comes as a bit of a disappointment since the Bucs started the month 12-6. A big issue, arguably the biggest, for the Pirates during their losing streak had been the inability to hit with runners in scoring position. This continued to be a problem for the Pirates in Tuesday night’s loss. Luckily, they were able to overcome these woes. Bucs The Bucs had runners on the corners with just one out in the top of the 1st inning and failed to score. In the top of the 2nd, they had runners on first and second with no one out. Once again, they failed to score. Worst of all, they may have lost catcher Francisco Cervelli to injury in the 2nd inning. Cervelli was hit in the wrist by a pitch in the inning, and, after originally staying in the game, removed himself due to pain. It is not a good sign that Cervelli removed himself from the game, especially with his past history of injuries. Hopefully, it was just precautionary, but, things did not look good for the Pirate backstop. Injuries have been a massive issue for the Pirates this season. The team currently has a whopping 10 players on the IL, and a grand total of 15 players have spent time on the IL in the season’s first month. Let’s hope Cervelli does not make that number 16. Jordan Lyles started for the Pirates and struggled for a second consecutive start. He started the game with 3 scoreless inning, but struggled to do so throwing 69 pitches in those innings. In the bottom of the 4th, the wheels came off the cart for Lyles. A single and a pair of walks loaded the bases for the Rangers. Asdrubal Cabrera then blooped a two-run singled into right field to make the score 2-0 Texas. Shortstop Cole Tucker than made an A+ play to save a run, before Lyles got a ground out to end the inning. Due to his pitch count, Lyles lasted just 4 innings. He allowed a pair of runs on three hits, four walks, and five strikeouts. In his last two starts, Lyles has allowed 7 runs in just 9 innings of work. Unfortunately, Lyles is starting to look like the pitcher fans feared he would be when the team signed him in December. This combined with Chris Archer being injured and the offense in a major funk is something that does not bode well for the Pirates. Early on Tuesday night it looked like the Pirate offense would continue to frustrate fans. Former Pirate farmhand Adrian Sampson started for the Rangers. Nothing against Adrian, but, as his career 4.71 ERA and 6.00 FIP would indicate, he is not very good. The Pirates made him look like Cy Young. Sampson turned in the best start of his MLB career pitching 5 2/3 scoreless innings. Sampson allowed just five hits, he did not walk a batter, and he struck out five. He retired 14 of the last 16 batters he faced, and was in complete control after hitting Cervelli to put two men on base with no one out in the 2nd. Sampson exited the game with a runner on first and two outs in the top of the 6th inning. He was lifted for lefty Brett Martin who proceeded to allow a base hit to Colin Moran. However, Martin then struck out Elias Diaz to end the inning. This made the Pirates 0-for-7 with RISP. The team had another opportunity with RISP in the top of the 8th inning when Gregory Polanco walked to start the inning and Melky Cabrera singled with one out. Texas pitcher Chris Martin would put out the fire, though. He struck out Moran with a fastball down the middle for the second out of the inning he then got Diaz to ground out to end the inning. This made the Bucs 0-for-9 with RISP. When Lyles night ended Clint Hurdled went to the much maligned Steven Brault. To his credit, Brault pitched better than fans on social media, yours truly included, expected. Brault fired 2 scoreless innings, he allowed just one base runner, and he struck out three. After Brault, righty Michael Feliz took the mound. This marked the first appearance of the season for Feliz who was recently recalled when Archer was placed on the IL. Feliz would retire the Rangers in order while picking up a pair of strikeouts. Feliz returned to the mound in the bottom of the 8th inning. He got the first batter of the inning tor ground out and then recorded a strikeout. However, on the strikeout Rougned Odor reached on a passed ball by Diaz. Feliz would then issue a walk, get a pop out that should have ended the inning, and issue another walk to load the bases. With the bases loaded and two outs, Feliz was lifted for lefty Francisco Liriano. Despite his 0.00 ERA, Liriano has struggled against the first batter he has faced and with inherited runners. These issues continued on Tuesday night. Liriano walked Joey Gallo to start the inning, making it 3-0 Texas. He then induced a ground ball to end the inning. 7 of 14 inherited runners of scored off of Liriano this season. This is simply not good enough and Liriano must be better. While Feliz got tagged with an earned run, it was not all his doing.<doc-sep>Rookie Bryan Reynolds and Starling Marte hit home runs in the 11th inning Tuesday as the Pittsburgh Pirates came back to beat the Texas Rangers 6-4 in Arlington, Texas, and end an eight-game losing streak. Slideshow ( 4 images ) The Pirates tied it 3-3 with three runs in the ninth, including Josh Bell’s two-run double. In the 11th against reliever Jesse Chavez (0-1), Reynolds led off with his first career homer, a blast to center. An out later, Adam Frazier reached on left fielder Shin-Soo Choo’s two-base fielding error. Marte, just off the injured list earlier in the day because of bruised ribs and abdomen, hit his third homer, to right-center, making it 6-3. Joey Gallo hit a homer in the bottom of the 11th to close it to 6-4 off Felipe Vazquez, who got out of the inning for his seventh save. Pirates starter Jordan Lyles gave up two runs and three hits in four innings with four walks and five strikeouts. Kyle Crick (1-1) pitched a scoreless top of the 10th. The Rangers had won two straight. Texas starter Adrian Sampson tossed 5 2/3 scoreless innings. He gave up five hits, struck out five and walked none. Pittsburgh catcher Francisco Cervelli left in the second inning after being hit in the left wrist by a 93 mph Sampson pitch. In the fourth, Elvis Andrus led off with an infield single, Texas’ second hit. After Nomar Mazara struck out, Hunter Pence walked, and Gallo drew a four-pitch walk to load the bases. Asdrubal Cabrera drove in Andrus and Pence with a bloop single to shallow right for a 2-0 Rangers lead. In the eighth, Texas seized on a passed ball and three walks, with Gallo drawing a two-out, bases-loaded walk off reliever Francisco Liriano to boost the advantage to 3-0. The Pirates tied it in the ninth against closer Jose Leclerc, stacking together a leadoff double by Reynolds and singles by Cole Tucker and Frazier to close it to 3-1, followed two strikeouts later by Bell’s double to left-center. --Field Level Media<doc-sep>Polanco experienced another great feeling in the seventh, which may have been a sign of more good things to come. After Marte ripped a run-scoring double to right, Polanco crushed a 108-mph double to center for his first RBI of the season. Polanco has been struggling to find his rhythm since he came off the injured list, but he may have found something when he shortened his swing to catch up to Kyle Dowdy’s 97-mph fastball.<doc-sep>
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Rookie Bryan Reynolds kept up his impressive start, hitting a three-run double as the Pittsburgh Pirates completed a two-game sweep in Texas by topping the Rangers 7-5 on Wednesday. A day after his first career home run put the Pirates ahead in the 11th inning of a 6-4 win that ended an eight-game losing streak, Reynolds extended his career-opening hitting streak to nine games with a liner over left fielder Joey Gallo’s head in the fourth. A 24-year-old outfielder acquired in the trade that sent Andrew McCutchen to San Francisco before the 2018 season, Reynolds is one of two Pirates since 1900 with a hit in each of his first nine games in the big leagues. Gregory Polanco debuted with an 11-game streak in 2014. The Rangers hit three homers, starting with the 11th of the season from Gallo on a 114 mph liner off the fencing of the foul pole in right. On Tuesday, Gallo set a club record with 10 home runs before May 1. Danny Santana led off the seventh with his third, also off Pittsburgh starter Jameson Taillon. Shin-Soo Choo pulled the Rangers within 6-5 on a two-run shot against reliever Richard Rodriguez later in the inning. His fourth homer landed just beyond the wall in right over a leaping Melky Cabrera. After an RBI single from Elias Diaz for a two-run lead, Kyle Crick pitched a perfect eighth and Felipe Vazquez made it 2 for 2 on saves in the series, getting his eighth in eight chances by striking out Choo and pinch-hitter Hunter Pence with the tying run at second in the ninth. Taillon (2-3) won for the second time in three starts, allowing five hits and four runs — three earned — with five strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings. Shelby Miller gave up exactly four runs in a fifth straight start after cruising through the first three innings. Five of six hitters reached against the Texas right-hander in the fourth, capped by Reynolds’ one-out double. Miller (1-2) allowed four hits and two walks in 3 1/3 innings. Starling Marte, who had two hits and scored twice, and Polanco lined consecutive run-scoring doubles in the seventh. TRAINER’S ROOM Pirates: C Francisco Cervelli was out of the lineup a day after getting hit by a pitch on his left wrist. The club said there was no fracture, and it appeared unlikely he was headed for the injured list. … RHP Chris Archer hasn’t thrown since experiencing right thumb inflammation that put him on the IL on Monday, a day after his most recent start. The club anticipates him being ready when he’s eligible to return. Rangers: LHP Drew Smyly (left arm nerve tightness) reported no discomfort after throwing 37 pitches in a simulated game. Barring a setback, he could start Sunday against Toronto. … RHP Owen White, a second-round pick in last year’s draft, was scheduled for Tommy John surgery on his right elbow Wednesday. UP NEXT Pirates: RHP Joe Musgrove (1-2, 2.06 ERA) is set for his seventh appearance and sixth start Friday at home against Oakland. He worked at least six innings in each of his first five starts. Rangers: LHP Mike Minor (3-2, 2.88) is 3-1 with a 1.75 ERA is his past five starts and ranks fourth among AL pitchers with opponents hitting .179 against him. He is one of three big leaguers with four starts of at least seven innings each.