SURPRISE, Ariz. — Texas Rangers manager Skip Schumaker acknowledged that some tough conversations took place Friday afternoon after another round of roster cuts.
Expect some more difficult ones — and, in that same breath, some uplifting ones — before the club breaks camp and shuttles back to Arlington Saturday night.
The Rangers played their second-to-last Cactus League game in a 6-5 win vs. the San Francisco Giants at Surprise Stadium Friday night. They did something they struggled to do last season — rally — in the victory.
They trailed by five runs after seven innings, but in the eighth, they scored six by way of a grand slam from first baseman Jake Burger and a two-run single from second baseman Josh Smith. The Rangers had a .636 OPS, the third-worst in baseball, when behind in games last season.
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Consider Friday night progress.
Here are three other observations from Friday’s win.
Opening day dress rehearsal: Right-hander Nathan Eovaldi allowed four hits and no walks in four scoreless innings vs. the Giants in his last spring game before he starts against the Philadelphia Phillies on opening day next Thursday. He threw 27 of his 36 pitches for strikes, tacked on another inning’s worth of work in the bullpen after he exited and, most importantly, was “very happy” with where his splitter is.
The 36-year-old’s splitter is his money pitch and among the best of its kind in baseball, but in Cactus League play, opponents batted .304 against it. He threw it nine times Friday, landed it for three called strikes, a whiff and used it to turn a double play in the third inning.
“I feel like we found it in the last bullpen,” Eovaldi said. “It felt really good.”
Eovaldi finished spring with a 3.26 ERA and 16 strikeouts in 19 1/3 innings.
“I’m very pleased with where we’re at,” Eovaldi said, “and ready for the season to start.”
A two-way matinee: Friday afternoon, before the Cactus League affair, the Rangers and Kansas City Royals played in the third annual Spring Breakout game. The exhibition features an assortment of each organization’s top prospects, and in this year’s installment, the Rangers showcased their latest ambitious venture.
Korean teenager Seong-Jun Kim — a right-handed pitcher and shortstop — pitched and hit vs. the Royals. He went 0 for 2 at the plate after he was substituted in at designated hitter and threw a scoreless fourth inning on the mound. His fastball ran 91-93 mph and he picked up a swing-and-miss on his slider. Kim is the No. 10 player on The Dallas Morning News’ top prospects list.
Elsewhere in the prospect showcase, right-handed pitcher Gavin Collyer topped 100 mph in his two-thirds of an inning, right-handed pitcher Ismael Agreda ran his fastball at an average of 98.8 mph and shortstop Curley Martha hit the team’s lone extra base hit with a sixth-inning double.
A medley of bullpen candidates on display: Schumaker said that the available bullpen spots are among the last boxes to check before rosters are finalized alongside the fifth starter position and the bench.
Three relief candidates for the opening day roster threw Friday night.
Right-handed pitcher Luis Curvelo, who is an attractive candidate because of his ability to be optioned, allowed a pair of home runs in two innings. Giants first baseman Charlie Szykowny drilled a high-and-out-of-the-zone fastball for a solo home run in the fifth inning and left fielder Will Brennan pulled a slider for a solo home run in the sixth.
World Series hero Josh Sborz allowed three runs on three hits and a walk one inning later. Giants catcher Jesus Rodriguez hit a fastball in the top of the zone for a two-run home run. Sborz, a right-hander, has worked this spring to rediscover his velocity after he missed the entirety of last season because of shoulder surgery. His fastball averaged 92.9 mph Friday night. That’s a step back from the 93.7 mph that it’s averaged this spring.
Right-hander Carter Baumler, a Rule 5 draftee, continued his impressive spring with a scoreless eighth inning. He struck out two batters — one with his nasty curveball and one with a 96.6 mph fastball — and threw 7 of his 11 pitches for strikes. He’s never pitched above Double-A, and must be offered back to the Baltimore Orioles if he doesn’t make the opening day roster, but the fact that he’s yet to allow a run in seven Cactus League games should have him in contention for a position in the big league bullpen.
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