MILWAUKEE — Kumar Rocker threw 86 pitches and did not finish the fourth inning Sunday afternoon at American Family Field. Five Texas Rangers relievers covered the last 6 innings of a 7-4 win over the Milwaukee Brewers.
Rocker worked 3 innings and gave up 4 hits, 2 earned runs, and 4 walks. He struck out 7. All of the damage came in the first, when each of the first four batters he faced reached base. Rocker needed 35 pitches to get out of the inning.
Before Monday’s opener against the Athletics, Texas placed right-handers Peyton Gray and Cole Winn on the 15-day injured list and recalled left-hander Robby Ahlstrom and right-hander Ben Peoples from Triple-A Round Rock.
Long innings sent Rangers manager Skip Schumaker to the bullpen early, and the offense came back from there.
“A few things. It was a tough first inning, them getting two runs against Rocker, and then just some long innings after that and went right to the bullpen,” Schumaker said. “Alexander was fantastic, kind of kept them at two runs, and then our offense came back. We’ve talked about offensive identity and what that means, and it’s going to take some heart and guts to fight back and to start getting more wins, and that’s exactly what happened today.”
“These guys are working hard to get it right, and it was a really good offensive performance,” Schumaker continued. “So really good job with the bullpen and obviously the offense coming alive.”
Tyler Alexander And The Texas Rangers’ Bullpen
Tyler Alexander worked the fourth and fifth without allowing a hit and picked up the win, his fifth against two losses. Adam Macko, Jakob Junis, and Jordan Montgomery each pitched an inning. Jacob Latz closed it out in the ninth for his 27th save in 30 chances. Latz was the Rangers’ only All-Star selection this season.
Montgomery allowed the only runs the bullpen gave up. Gary Sánchez took him deep for two in the seventh. It was the 200th home run of Sánchez’s career.
Kumar Rocker’s Recent Starts
Sunday was the sixth consecutive start in which Rocker did not complete 6 innings. He went 5 2/3 innings at the Chicago White Sox on Aug. 24 and 5 innings against the Washington Nationals on Aug. 19. Before that came 5 innings at the Athletics on Aug. 14, 3 innings against the Baltimore Orioles on Aug. 9, and 5 1/3 innings at the Houston Astros on Aug. 2.
Rocker entered Sunday at 5-10 with a 4.41 ERA across 25 games and 23 starts. He had 117 strikeouts and 51 walks in 126 2/3 innings, with a 1.397 WHIP. His ERA+ of 87 sits below league average. Opponents are batting .255 against him, and he has given up 18 home runs.
The 126 2/3 innings are already a career high. Rocker made 14 starts in 2025 and went 4-5 with a 5.74 ERA in 64 1/3 innings.
Three organizations drafted him. The Colorado Rockies took Rocker in the 38th round in 2018 out of North Oconee High School in Bogart, Ga. The New York Mets took him 10th overall in 2021 out of Vanderbilt University. Texas took him third overall in 2022. Rocker made his major league debut on Sept. 12, 2024, against the Seattle Mariners and struck out 7 over 4 innings.
Texas Rangers’ Rotation Injuries
Nathan Eovaldi went on the 15-day injured list on Aug. 10, retroactive to Aug. 9, with right posterior elbow inflammation. Jack Leiter‘s biceps soreness is nothing structural, president of baseball operations Chris Young said Monday, and Leiter will be reevaluated within a day or two. Jacob deGrom came back on Aug. 20 against Washington.
deGrom starts the homestand opener Monday against the Athletics. He takes a 9-9 record and a 4.21 ERA into the start. Gage Jump (6-8, 4.69 ERA) starts for the Athletics. First pitch is 7:05 p.m. CT at Globe Life Field on Rangers Sports Network.
