ARLINGTON, Texas — Cal Quantrill threw about 10 pitches off the slope Thursday and is ready for his next start, Texas Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said before the series finale against the Boston Red Sox at Globe Life Field.
Schumaker made the comments on The Skip Schumaker Show, the pregame segment Rangers Sports Network posted at 6:42 p.m. CT. Quantrill is scheduled to start Saturday against the Toronto Blue Jays and right-hander José Soriano.
Quantrill felt better Thursday than he had earlier in the week.
“He’s feeling better today,” Schumaker said. “Threw, I don’t know, not too many off the mound, off the slope today. Just out there, maybe 10 pitches total. But he felt good, and he’s ready for his next start.”
Quantrill also said Thursday that his back is fine and that he will make his next start, Jeff Wilson of DLLS Sports reported.
Cal Quantrill Pitched Through Back Tightness Sunday
On Sunday at Chase Field, Quantrill’s back tightened after the fifth inning. He stayed in and finished 6 innings in a 7-6 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. His line was 6 innings, 5 hits, 2 earned runs, 0 walks, and 4 strikeouts on 70 pitches, his fewest in six starts.
Once the tightness set in, Schumaker and Quantrill agreed to go hitter to hitter.
“He was outstanding,” Schumaker explained after that game. “I mean, Cal was on the attack, gave up one run through six innings, whatever it was. And then after the fifth, he had back tightness and it was pretty significant back tightness.”
“And so we agreed to go kind of hitter to hitter or inning to inning and hitter to hitter and keep communicating throughout as soon as the seventh inning started,” Schumaker continued. “And we talked about it. And if one guy got on, we’re going to kind of go to the bullpen.”
Arizona’s leadoff hitter singled in the seventh, and Quantrill came out. Tyler Alexander took over and gave up a three-run homer, with one of the runs charged to Quantrill. Texas did not place him on the injured list.
Quantrill told the Rangers he would make his next start, Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young said Monday on 105.3 The Fan’s G-Bag Nation.
“I think Cal will be fine,” Young said. “It’s that point in the season where guys are really pushing through it. They know what’s at stake, and they’re all dealing with some level of aches and pains, and their bodies have been through a lot, and they’re fighting through it.”
Cal Quantrill Lines Up Against José Soriano Saturday
First pitch Saturday is 6:05 p.m. CT on Rangers Sports Network. Quantrill is 9-5 with a 2.90 ERA over 31 appearances, 14 of them starts, and 108 2/3 innings. His 1.049 WHIP is a career best.
Since the start of August, he has a 1.80 ERA over nine games, eight of them starts, TSN reported. In three career starts against Toronto, he has a 1.59 ERA and 21 strikeouts. One of those came June 27 at Rogers Centre, when Quantrill threw 4 scoreless innings in a spot start during a four-game Texas sweep.
The Rangers signed Quantrill to a minor league contract Jan. 29. Media members and broadcasters who regularly cover the team voted him the Rangers’ Player of the Month for August.
The Port Hope, Ontario, native’s father pitched for the Blue Jays from 1996 to 2001 and was an All-Star in 2001.
Soriano has a 2.84 ERA in eight career games against Texas, six of them starts. The Los Angeles Angels traded him to Toronto on Aug. 3. On Monday against the Detroit Tigers, he carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning. He finished with 4 runs allowed on 5 hits and 5 strikeouts over 6 1/3 innings.
Kumar Rocker starts Friday’s opener against Dylan Cease at 7:05 p.m. CT. Jacob deGrom starts Sunday’s finale at 1:35 p.m. CT, and Toronto has not named a starter.
