| Advertisement |
The Texas Rangers will be without outfielder Delino DeShields for the foreseeable future after he landed on the disabled list for the third time this season on Friday. On Thursday, he was hit by a pitch on the tip of the middle finger of his right hand while trying to bunt, and the finger was broken in three places.
Advertisement
Having DeShields absent from the lineup didn't seem to affect the Rangers much on Friday as Texas defeated the Los Angeles Angels 6-4 at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas. It was the second straight win for Texas, which took the first two games of this four-game series versus its American League West rivals.
The Angels will send left-hander Andrew Heaney (7-7, 3.88 ERA) to the mound on Saturday evening in the third game of the series. Texas has not yet announced its starting pitcher, and may go with an "opener" and use its bullpen by committee as Los Angeles did on Thursday.
DeShields has had health problems all season. He broke the hamate bone in his left hand on a swing in which he did not make contact in the second game of the season. He also has some neck stiffness and an occasional low-grade headache from a concussion he suffered driving for a fly ball in Boston in July.
No one knows how long his latest injury will sideline DeShields, but he is keeping a positive attitude about the situation and is looking ahead.
"I'm going to finish strong and go into the offseason with a great mind and address the things I need to address," DeShields said Friday after the team announced that he would be placed on the 10-day disabled list.
"Just get back to doing what I was doing before my first injury. Up until now, everything got sidetracked. I don't know if I'm overcompensating. I have some time to address those things and get back to being me."
Heaney's start on Saturday will come on the one-year anniversary of his return from Tommy John surgery. He has already set career highs in wins, starts (22) and innings pitched (134 2/3) in his first full post-surgery campaign.
"Physically, I feel good," Heaney told MLB.com on Friday. "I feel normal for the middle of August. Like any pitcher, you always have your ups and downs throughout the season. I'm just trying to avoid the really rough ones and appreciate the good ones.
"I feel like I'm completely out of thinking about health or anything like that. You kind of shift your focus back to competing."
Heaney will be making 23rd start of the season and his first start of 2018 against Texas. He did not factor in the decision in his most recent start on Monday at San Diego after tossing 7 1/3 innings and allowing two earned runs on four hits.
Heaney has started 11 games on the road this year and is 0-5 with a 4.97 ERA compared with a 7-2 record and 2.90 ERA at home. In four career starts against the Rangers, he is 1-2 with a 7.23 ERA.
