Jordan Lyles has been a good addition for the Milwaukee Brewers so far, and he’ll try to keep contributing to his new club when he faces the visiting Texas Rangers in the finale of their three-game series on Sunday.
Lyles was acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates at the trade deadline last month, and the 28-year-old right-hander has turned things around with the Brewers in his first two starts.
Lyles (7-7, 4.97 ERA) has allowed one earned run in five innings in each of his first two outings with Milwaukee, most recently beating his former team 9-7 in Pittsburgh on Monday. He held the Pirates to two hits while walking two and striking out one.
Lyles was 0-6 with a 9.58 ERA over his final eight starts before the trade deadline.
“His stuff is still strong,” Brewers general manager David Stearns told reporters after trading for Lyles. “He’s still executing his pitches, and we believe he can have success for us over the final two months of the season.”
Even while their best player, Christian Yelich, has missed the past four games with a sore back, the Brewers seem to be gaining confidence after winning five straight, including the each of the first two games of this series by one run.
They’ve gotten strong starts in the first two games of the series by Gio Gonzalez and Adrian Houser and will look to Lyles to keep it going.
Lyles faced the Rangers on April 30 while still with the Pirates and allowed two runs and three hits in four innings of the 6-4 win.
He has struggled against Texas overall in his career, however, owning a 1-5 mark and 7.80 ERA, his highest ERA mark against any major league team.
The Rangers plan to send left-hander Mike Minor to the mound in an effort to end a four-game losing streak.
Minor (10-6, 3.06 ERA) is coming off seven shutout innings against the Cleveland Indians on Monday. The Rangers won 1-0 to give him his 10th victory of the season.
Cleveland manager Terry Francona was impressed with Minor’s performance.
“I thought we caught him at his best,” Francona told reporters. “He can elevate. He can spin the ball to the back foot of the right-handed hitters, and he had a changeup.”
That outing was especially welcoming for Minor because it ended a streak of four straight starts in which he allowed at least four earned runs.
Against the Brewers in his career, he’s 2-2 with a 2.90 ERA in five career starts.
The Brewers had to get through Saturday’s 3-2 victory without All Star left-handed reliever Josh Hader, who threw a season-high 44 pitches in the win on Friday night.
Hader, who came into Saturday tied for fourth in the National League with 25 saves, lost some velocity toward the end of the outing on Friday. He was unavailable on Saturday night, but Matt Albers stepped up with his third save of the season.
It’s likely Hader will be ready if needed on Sunday.
“He’s still the best pitcher I’ve seen in the big leagues,” teammate Eric Thames told reporters after Friday’s win. “You can’t strike everybody out.”
