Rangers play the Pirates with 1-0 series lead

By Canadian Press on June 21, 2025.

Texas Rangers (37-39, third in the AL West) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (30-47, fifth in the NL Central)

Pittsburgh; Saturday, 4:05 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Rangers: Kumar Rocker (2-4, 7.31 ERA, 1.69 WHIP, 27 strikeouts); Pirates: Mitch Keller (1-9, 4.08 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 68 strikeouts)

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Rangers -111, Pirates -108; over/under is 8 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Texas Rangers bring a 1-0 advantage into the next game of the series against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Pittsburgh has a 19-20 record at home and a 30-47 record overall. The Pirates have a 13-3 record in games when they scored at least five runs.

Texas is 37-39 overall and 14-23 in road games. The Rangers are 23-12 in games when they record eight or more hits.

Saturday’s game is the second time these teams square off this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Oneil Cruz has 10 doubles, a triple and 13 home runs for the Pirates. Andrew McCutchen is 13 for 41 with four doubles and three home runs over the past 10 games.

Josh Smith has 11 doubles, a triple and seven home runs for the Rangers. Adolis Garcia is 14 for 39 with six doubles and two home runs over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Pirates: 3-7, .196 batting average, 3.98 ERA, outscored by 11 runs

Rangers: 6-4, .279 batting average, 3.66 ERA, outscored opponents by 18 runs

INJURIES: Pirates: Endy Rodriguez: 60-Day IL (elbow), Colin Holderman: 15-Day IL (thumb), Enmanuel Valdez: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Justin Lawrence: 60-Day IL (elbow), Tim Mayza: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Jared Jones: 60-Day IL (elbow), Johan Oviedo: 60-Day IL (elbow)

Rangers: Jake Burger: day-to-day (oblique), Tyler Mahle: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Nathan Eovaldi: 15-Day IL (tricep), Joc Pederson: 10-Day IL (hand), Cody Bradford: 60-Day IL (elbow), Jon Gray: 60-Day IL (wrist), Josh Sborz: 60-Day IL (shoulder)

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

The Associated Press