Can someone please send a search party out to find 2022 Martin Perez?

What we are seeing lately is Original Martin Perez and that leaves a bitter taste in your mouth.

Yesterday’s meltdown against Tampa Bay was Perez’s third start of the year in which he has given up six or more earned runs, and his second in his last three starts.

His 6-1 record coming into yesterday’s game was deceiving. No pitcher had gotten the run support Perez enjoyed. In four of his thirteen starts, the Rangers scored double digits, including two of the games in which he gave up six runs and seven runs. 

His ERA in April was 2.41. It’s taken a dive since then. His May ERA was 6.91 and so far in June it’s 6.10.

That’s the Martin Perez we all knew and didn’t love. That’s the Martin Perez the Rangers let get away back in 2018 when he went 2-7 in twenty-two starts, posting a 6.22 ERA.

In fact, in Perez’s twelve big league seasons, the only time his ERA started with a two was last year. The only time it started with a three was his second season, when he posted a 3.62 ERA. 

What we are seeing lately is the Martin Perez that we saw all those years. He leads the major leagues in hits allowed. With the loss of Jacob deGrom and the return to form of Andrew Heaney, this deep Rangers rotation suddenly is looking a bit threadbare. 

This is a formal request for Rangers fans to search for 2022 Martin Perez. Form a posse. Split into groups. Search high and low. Actually, don’t search low because that’s where this version is right now. 

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