ARLINGTON — When Spencer Howard was acquired by the Rangers last season he said he was excited to have a set routine, which was something he said he didn’t have with the Philadelphia Phillies.
The Rangers are cognizant of that, but in the meantime, the routine for Howard will happen with another jersey on.
Howard, the former top prospect in the Phillies system, was optioned to Triple-A Round Rock on Saturday, a day after he made his second appearance off the IL. Howard, replacing opener Garrett Richards for the second-consecutive time in the rotation, threw 1.2 innings and had three strikeouts, but also allowed two walks and an inside the park home run.
Instead of bringing up another pitcher, the Rangers recalled outfielder Zach Reks, whom they acquired for cash considerations from the Los Angeles Dodgers last year. Reks is in the lineup on Saturday.
Howard’s demotion to Triple-A is exactly that from a literal sense, but Rangers manager Chris Woodward doesn’t look at it that way. He said he liked what he saw from Howard, adding that there’s been some encouraging signs of life on his pitches of late. At this point in the season, though, Woodward said the Rangers need to reserve a spot in the rotation for someone who could go deeper in games.
The Rangers have hopes that Howard will be a starter like that in the future. They hoped to build him back up to that threshold in the first month of the season, but an IL stint for a blister disrupted those plans.
“He needs to go down and build up to 90-100 [pitches] to get back here,” Woodward said before Saturday’s game. “And then he’s obviously got to throw well.”
Woodward expects Howard to accomplish that last part. And if that happens, then Howard could be back in the Rangers’ rotation soon. Woodward said there isn’t a set date, but if he can build up to longer starts and do well in those, it might only be two or three starts back in the minors.
In the meantime, starter Glenn Otto — brought up recently from Triple-A Round Rock — could slide into a more fixed spot in the rotation. He’s had two starts for the Rangers, including his first MLB win in Oakland last Friday. Opening Day starter Jon Gray is also expected to come off the IL soon. Gray went on the IL for his second time this season on April 21 with a knee sprain. He pitched in a live batting practice session on Friday and could start when the Rangers go to Philadelphia this week.
Speaking of Philadelphia: last season, Howard was called up four different times by the Phillies before he was traded to the Rangers in the Kyle Gibson deal. On the surface, getting dropped back to Triple-A could feel like a return to that anti-routine Howard had last year, but Woodward said it’s just a continuation of the plan he had at the Major League level.
“We’re actually keeping him on that routine,” Woodward said, “we just don’t have the luxury of doing that here.”
No issues: The Rangers will wear their powder blue uniforms for Sunday’s homestand finale. It’s the first time the team has had the chance to wear them this season. Supply chain issues were cited as the reason for the delay.
Watching Nolan: After Sunday’s game, the Rangers will host the first public screening of “Facing Nolan,” a 105-minute documentary about the Hall of Fame career of former Rangers pitcher Nolan Ryan. Sunday will also mark the 31st anniversary of Ryan’s seventh and final no hitter.
Briefly: Corey Seager’s solo home run in the first inning broke a streak of 19-straight games where the Rangers went scoreless in the opening inning. The last time the Rangers scored in the first inning before Saturday was Opening Day in Toronto … Nathaniel Lowe batted leadoff for the first time in his career on Saturday. He grounded out to second base in his first at bat and went hitless ... Sam Huff’s base hit extended his hitting streak to seven games at the MLB level ... Saturday’s attendance was 36,097, marking the highest attendance this season ... The game time of 2:16 was the shortest for a Rangers’ nine-inning game at Globe Life Field ever.
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May 01, 2022 at 05:59AM
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