First, Kyle Higashioka was catching for a second straight day, coming off a three-hit game, and second, it allowed the Rangers to start the same exact lineup in two games for the first time since April 3-4.
Manager Skip Schumaker also pointed to starter MacKenzie Gore’s 2.02 ERA in his two previous starts with Higashioka behind the plate as part of the reason for doubling up the catching duties.
“He’s got nice numbers catching MacKenzie,” Schumaker said. “But it’s more that he’s had a couple of nice games offensively in a row and that tandem has also worked out pretty well.”
In his last two starts, Sunday against Kansas City and Tuesday, Higashioka was 5-for-8 with a walk and a strikeout.
The Rangers catching duties have been very narrowly defined this year, with Danny Jansen catching all of Jacob deGrom and Kumar Rocker’s starts and Higashioka exclusively catching Jack Leiter. Nathan Eovaldi has paired up primarily with Higashioka, working together for 10 games, but also has two games with Jansen. Gore will have the most variety, with 10 games with Jansen and three now with Higashioka.