ARLINGTON, Texas — Cal Quantrill has told the Texas Rangers he will make his next start after pitching through back tightness Sunday, president of baseball operations Chris Young said Monday. Young said he is not worried about it.
Young gave the update on the club’s off day during his weekly segment on 105.3 The Fan’s G-Bag Nation.
Quantrill’s back tightened after the fifth inning Sunday at Chase Field. He finished six innings and came out after Geraldo Perdomo opened the seventh with a single. His line in the 7-6 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks was 6 innings, 5 hits, 2 earned runs, no walks, and 4 strikeouts on 70 pitches, his fewest in six starts. He has a 1.89 ERA over that stretch and has won five of the six.
“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 said he’ll make his next start,” Young continued. “I’m not really worried about that. What a tremendous season he’s had as well. He’s been one of our most consistent pitchers, especially in the second half, and really we’re in the position we’re in because of Cal and what he’s done in our rotation.”
Texas did not place Quantrill on the injured list after the game.
Cal Quantrill Has A 2.90 ERA In First Season With Texas Rangers
Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said after the win that he and Quantrill agreed to go hitter to hitter once the tightness set in, with a plan to go to the bullpen if one runner reached in the seventh.
“He was outstanding,” Schumaker said. “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. And we talked about it. And if one guy got on, we’re going to kind of go to the bullpen. And that’s what happened.”
Tyler Alexander replaced Quantrill and gave up a three-run homer to Nolan Arenado, with one of the runs charged to Quantrill.
Quantrill signed a one-year contract with Texas in January. He 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, and his 134 ERA+ is the highest of his eight seasons. Last season, he went 4-12 with a 6.04 ERA over 26 starts with the Miami Marlins and Atlanta Braves.
His six-start run began with 7 scoreless innings against the Los Angeles Angels on Aug. 18. He shut out the Angels again on Aug. 23 and held the Tampa Bay Rays to 2 hits over 7 innings on Sept. 3.
Cal Quantrill Lines Up For Toronto Blue Jays Series
On normal rest, Quantrill’s next turn falls in the three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays that begins Friday at Globe Life Field. Texas first hosts the Boston Red Sox for three games starting Tuesday.
The rotation has other health questions. Jacob deGrom left his Sept. 10 start in Seattle after 6 innings with groin tightness, and Nathan Eovaldi returned from elbow inflammation Saturday in a relief role. Young said Eovaldi will still be in the bullpen Tuesday and could move into a longer role by the end of the week.
Quantrill has pitched through arm trouble before. Two injured list stints with right shoulder inflammation cost him 72 games in 2023, and a right triceps issue put him on the 15-day injured list from Sept. 1 to 15 last year with the Colorado Rockies.
At 74-76, Texas is one game behind the Houston Astros in the American League West and two games behind the Cleveland Guardians for the third American League wild card, with 12 games left. First pitch Tuesday is 7:05 p.m. CT on Rangers Sports Network.
