Jose Quintana Gives Rangers Vs Rockies Left-Handed Problem
The Rangers vs Rockies opener at Coors Field puts Texas in front of Jose Quintana, and the matchup points straight at a lineup change. The game was set for 7:40 p.m. central, with the Rangers carrying a.193/.277/.269 line against left-handed pitching and only four home runs and 25 RBI in those situations.
Quintana And Coors Field
Colorado was scheduled to start Quintana, a veteran who entered Monday at 1-2. That immediately put Texas in a different offensive lane than it had used over the weekend, because the Rangers tend to stack left-handed hitters against right-handed pitching and had been operating with Joc Pederson as a leadoff hitter for the previous four games.
Those four games all came against right-handers. Pederson is a platoon left-handed bat who only hits against right-handers, so the Rangers were expected to adjust again before facing Quintana at Coors Field in Denver. The ballpark sits one mile above sea level, and the thin air there usually changes how Texas has to build an order.
Seager Out In Arlington
Corey Seager was not in Monday's lineup because his back spasms were being checked out in Arlington. That leaves Texas to manage the front of the order without one of its regular pieces while it tries to produce against a starter it has already been built to attack differently than it would against a right-hander.
Sunday's 8-0 win over the Houston Astros offered a cleaner look at the offense in motion. The Rangers scored five runs in the seventh inning in that game, then had to turn quickly to a series opener that asked for a different mix of hitters.
Texas Against Lefties
The split is the central issue. Texas has hit.238/.320/.387 against right-handed pitching this season, with 38 home runs and 138 RBI, but the numbers drop sharply against lefties. That gap is why the Rangers were preparing to reshuffle the top of the lineup rather than simply carry the Sunday look into Monday.
Pederson's recent leadoff run was built on four games against right-handed pitchers, while McCutchen and Nimmo also fit into the lineup construction the Rangers had been using. Facing Quintana changes that construction at the exact point where Texas has been weakest, and the first pitch at Coors Field set the test for 7:40 p.m. central.
