Another gem: Mike Minor on his way to an 11-strikeout performance against Seattle.

Twenty-nine and two-third consecutive scoreless innings at home. Until Seattle finally broke through for two runs in the seventh, that’s how long Mike Minor went without anyone scoring off him at the Ballpark. He now owns the Rangers record for that sort of thing.

Minor is now sixth in the league in ERA.

When was the last time a Ranger pitcher finished in the top ten in ERA in the American League?

For a team with a legacy of bad pitching, surprisingly the Rangers more often than not have had a starter finish in the top ten in ERA the past ten years.

Nobody did it in 2018. In 2017, Andrew Cashner finished ninth. Cole Hamels finished eighth in 2016. Yu Darvish fourth in 2013. Matt Harrison seventh in 2012. C.J. Wilson seventh in 2011. Cliff Lee finished sixth and Wilson tenth in 2010, and Kevin Millwood finished eighth in 2009.

For the most part it has been one gem in a pile of trash.

Here is where the team finished in ERA the past ten years in the American League:

This year, so far, 14 out of 15.
2018: 13
2017: 11
2016: 13
2015: 13
2014: 14
2013: 4
2012: 7
2011: 5
2010: 4
2009: 8

Maybe that’s why it seems the Rangers pitching has been brutal lately. It has been. This is the sixth season in a row it has languished near the bottom of the barrel. Which, not coincidentally, is where most of the starters have come from.

But every year there seems to be one exception.

This year, it’s Mike Minor. He has been exceptional.

*****
TODAY’S GAME:

Tommy Malone (—, -.–) vs. Lance Lynn (5-3, 4.94)
Game time: 7:05