New York @ Texas preview
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Last Meeting ( Sep 2, 2024 ) NY Yankees 8, Texas 4
The past week has been solid for Giancarlo Stanton. The New York Yankees' designated hitter is batting .300 since Aug. 27 (6-for-20), putting up five RBIs, two home runs and three doubles in that stretch.
Stanton and the Yankees (80-58) will look for that to continue when they try for a series win against the Texas Rangers in the middle contest of a three-game set on Tuesday in Arlington, Texas.
"I feel like sometimes people don't take notice of just what an outstanding career he's had to this point," manager Aaron Boone said. "I feel like he's swinging the bat really, really well. I feel like his swing is where it needs to be. He's got a really good look in his eye right now. I'm excited about the presence he is in our lineup right now."
Stanton's two homers have come in each of the past two games, notching his 25th of the season in Monday's series-opening 8-4 win. It's the 10th time in his career he's reached the mark.
"Yeah, it's pretty cool," he said. "Something to add to whatever I can come up with in this career. As long as it can help us win, that's what's most important right now."
Stanton, Aaron Judge (51) and Juan Soto (37) are the only trio of teammates in the majors this season with at least 25 home runs.
Eight of New York's nine batters recorded a hit on Monday, with Soto (2-for-4), Gleyber Torres (3-for-5) and Jazz Chisholm Jr. (2-for-4) each recording multi-hit games. And though Judge had a quiet night at the plate with just one hit, he added another RBI to bring his league-leading tally to 124.
Carlos Rodon (14-9, 4.31 ERA) will be on the mound for the Yankees. The lefty, whose 14 wins are tied for the second most in the American League and third in the majors, is 2-1 with a 3.96 ERA in six career starts against Texas.
The Rangers (65-73), meanwhile, will look to bounce back after being handed just their second defeat in the past seven games.
Rookie pitcher Jack Leiter took the loss, going five-plus innings in a matchup against Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole, in what the 24-year-old called a "dream scenario." He was pulled in the sixth after failing to record an out against the top three in the Yankees' order.
"I didn't get it done in the sixth, but it's obviously an awesome, awesome situation to find myself in," Leiter said.
With Texas out of the playoff picture, Leiter and other youngsters will get more opportunities over the final month of the season.
"We want to finish the season strong, but I think part of having a great 2025 is going to be finding out about our young guys and making sure that they're ready to come contribute next year," general manager Chris Young said.
The Rangers will turn to veteran Andrew Heaney (4-13, 3.95) on Tuesday. The lefty has allowed one earned run over 10 innings in his past two starts. He's 1-4 with a 5.35 ERA in seven career starts against the Yankees.
Third baseman Josh Jung has been on a roll of late for Texas, with seven hits in his past 17 at-bats and hitting .297 (11-for-37) since Aug. 23.
--Field Level Media