ARLINGTON, Texas — Rangers manager Skip Schumaker went to the mound in the second inning Tuesday night to check on the lat of left-hander MacKenzie Gore. Gore stayed in and pitched 5 innings in the Texas Rangers’ 6-3 loss to the New York Mets at Globe Life Field.
The visit came after Gore walked Francisco Lindor on four pitches. Schumaker, pitching coach Jordan Tiegs, and head trainer Matt Lucero went out together. Gore’s velocity was down multiple ticks across the board, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reported.
Gore allowed 2 runs, 1 of them earned, and left after the fifth with a 3-2 lead. The Rangers asked him the same question on the mound that they asked him when he came out of the game.
“I was definitely checking on his health, making sure that the lat was okay, just kind of the way he was reacting sometimes to pitches,” Schumaker said. “After we took him out in the fifth inning, he said he was good as far as he didn’t feel anything in the back and the lat area, and that’s a very encouraging sign to hear. He just felt just a little fatigued back there, not in his body, but just in that area, but nothing that was in pain or anything.”
“But when we went out there, we asked the same thing, and he said he felt okay, and he was ready to go,” Schumaker continued. “And then actually his velo increased. Even that last inning was like 94 to 96, which was a good sign. And that’s, even though he gave up the hit to Soto, was the reason why I left him out there, because he looked good against Bichette.”
MacKenzie Gore’s Back Issue Began Against The Red Sox
Gore has been dealing with muscle spasms since his Sept. 16 start against the Boston Red Sox. He allowed a two-run home run in the first inning of that game and grabbed at his back after a 2-1 pitch in the second, MLB.com reported. Schumaker and a trainer made a brief visit then, too. Gore lasted 4 innings.
Nathan Eovaldi covered the final 4 scoreless innings of that 7-3 win. Gore said he felt he had figured out how to deal with the spasms before Tuesday’s start.
Texas acquired Gore from the Washington Nationals last offseason in a trade that sent five prospects to Washington. Eovaldi replaced him in the sixth Tuesday, and the Mets scored 3 runs in that inning to take the lead.
“He grinded that out,” Schumaker explained. “He gave everything he had today, an impressive outing. I thought he did enough. He thought he did enough as well, five innings coming out with the lead. We had a couple misplays behind him as well, and he fought through it. So I thought he did an excellent job.”
Rangers Set Rotation Day To Day With Five Games Left
Texas has not announced when Gore will pitch next. Schumaker said before Tuesday’s game that the club has been setting its rotation day to day for about a week or two, and the Rangers had not named starters for Wednesday or Thursday.
Right-hander Cal Quantrill moved to the 60-day injured list Tuesday with a right lat strain. President of baseball operations Chris Young said Monday that Jacob deGrom will pitch one of the final games.
The Rangers (78-79) are tied with the Houston Astros for first place in the American League West, and Houston owns the tiebreaker. Texas hosts the Mets again Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. CT, then finishes the regular season with three games against the Minnesota Twins from Sept. 25-27.
