Cleveland will turn to left-hander Logan Allen to help the Guardians get back on the winning track when they square off with the Texas Rangers on Saturday in the middle game of a three-game series in Arlington, Texas.
Allen (7-9, 3.87 ERA) will get the start while Texas will counter with rookie right-hander Jack Leiter (7-7, 4.06).
The Rangers took the first game of the series on Friday 4-3 when Joc Pederson’s walk-off double completed a ninth-inning comeback and gave Texas its second victory in its past three games while sending Cleveland to its three straight defeat and its sixth loss in seven games.
Before Friday’s game, the Rangers announced that outfielder Evan Carter suffered a broken wrist when he was hit by a pitch in a 6-4 loss at Kansas City on Thursday and is out indefinitely. Carter, who will turn 23 on Aug. 29, has missed extended time this season with back issues.
“We’ll get him back, and we’ll just stay positive on this end as far as his health, because it’s been a tough road for him,” Texas manager Bruce Bochy said. “I feel for the kid. This is a freak injury.”
Texas also played Friday without second baseman Marcus Semien, who is hobbling with a left foot injury in which the severity is still being evaluated.
Leiter’s season has hit a speed bump over the past month, as he’s endured a four-game stretch without a win after capturing three of his four starts in July. He allowed three runs on six hits and three walks in just 3 2/3 innings in a 4-3 loss at Kansas City on Monday in a game that marked his first decision in August. It was the second time in his last three games that Leiter failed to get out of the fourth inning.
Texas is just 7-15 in Leiter’s 22 starts this season and has dropped 15 of the last 20 games that Leiter has started.
Leiter knows his inefficiency and overall command issues have been at the root of his issues.
“Some outings, it’s been a little bit of mechanics, or getting too rushed, getting too quick,” he said. “Some outings, it’s been a pitch-selection thing, throwing certain pitches that weren’t as (strikes) in counts I needed to throw strikes.
“That’s all part of the learning process. A major goal for me early on was to learn as much as I possibly can, and ideally help the team win. I just haven’t been able to do that the last couple times out.”
Leiter is 0-1 lifetime and was shelled in his only previous start against the Guardians, allowing six runs on three hits and three walks in 1 1/3 innings of a 7-4 Cleveland victory at home on May 14, 2024. That performance produced a 32.40 ERA.
Allen, meanwhile, has three straight no-decisions but has deserved better, allowing just eight total runs and 14 hits over 14 2/3 innings. His most recent start was on Sunday when he gave up three runs (one earned) on five hits and three walks over 4 2/3 innings in his team’s 5-4 loss at home to Atlanta.
“Logan made a lot of the pitches he wanted to,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said after that defeat. “They got his pitch count up, and at times he kind of lost command. He did a great job of keeping them off the scoreboard, and then we just didn’t give him any help [in the fifth, when Allen surrendered his two unearned runs].”
Allen, who has not posted a win since July 29 vs. Colorado, has been hurt by wildness in the three games since, walking 11 — more than in five starts in July. He hasn’t faced the Rangers in his 68 major league appearances over the past three seasons.
–Field Level Media
