Rangers hope for more consistency from Odor
Marinez, Gosselin reunited with Rangers; Choo gets day off Sunday
ARLINGTON -- Rougned Odor had a night to remember against the White Sox on Saturday, crushing a pair of homers and matching a career high with 5 RBIs. That game is an example of the highs that comes with some of Odor's lows.
The Rangers' second baseman followed his big night on Saturday with another home run, his 27th, in the ninth inning of Sunday's 3-2 loss to the White Sox.
Odor tends to chase pitches -- he swings at 39.9 percent of pitches outside of the zone, ninth-highest percentage in the Majors, per Fangraphs -- but when he does make contact, he can change the game with one swing. His home run-to-fly-ball ratio is 19.8 percent, which ranks second among all second basemen in the Majors, only behind Jonathan Schoop.
The Rangers need Odor to be more consistent as they barrel down the home stretch of the season toward a playoff spot.
"What makes him dangerous also makes it more challenging," Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. "He can hit a number of locations and a number of pitches a long way. At the same time, he can miss those pitches out of the zone that are not high contact pitches.
"There are times he can shrink the zone, his nitro zone, and recognize what his nitro zone is and hit that pitch. But hitting is challenging so it's the consistency of success on his pitch."
Former Pirates reunited in Texas
Jhan Marinez and Phil Gosselin were Pirates a few months ago. But after both were placed on waivers earlier this month, the two have reunited in Texas.
Marinez was claimed by the Rangers on Aug. 10 and Gosselin on Aug 19. Marinez made his debut in the Rangers' win over the Tigers on Wednesday, throwing a pair of innings and allowing two runs. He pitched again on Saturday and fired two shutout innings in the 17-7 win over the White Sox.
"It's fun being here," Marinez said. "I feel good about it. They brought me here for a reason. They know what I can do. It's all about winning. I can pitch in any situation."
Gosselin, an infielder, didn't find out he was joining the Rangers until Saturday afternoon, and thanks to some hangups with his flight and the congested traffic around Globe Life Park, he didn't arrive until the game was nearly over.
"I was excited," Gosselin said. "Any time a team picks you up, it shows you that they want you, and the team here has had a lot of success these last few years. They won the division last year, and they've been playing really well to get back into the [American League] Wild Card [race] this year, so [I'm] excited to join a good organization."
Rangers beat
•: Shin-Soo Choo received a day off on Sunday. Banister said it was geared more toward letting him rest on a travel day, especially with a left-hander in the Angels' Tyler Skaggs set to pitch when the Rangers open a series in Anaheim on Monday.
•: The Rangers clubbed four homers on Saturday, their ninth game of the season with four or more homers. That's tied for the second most in the Majors this year along with the Dodgers and Astros.
•: Odor and Mike Napoli became the third pair of teammates to each record 5-plus RBIs in the same game, and just the first in the American League. The Nationals' Trea Turner and Daniel Murphy did it on April 25 against the Rockies, and Miami's Marcell Ozuna and Derek Dietrich accomplished the feat, as well, against the Rangers on July 26.