Clay Buchholz could use a win, and so could the Toronto Blue Jays in their series finale against the Texas Rangers on Sunday in Arlington, Tex.
Buchholz signed a one-year deal with the Blue Jays just before the start of the season after posting a 7-2 record and 2.01 ERA with the Arizona Diamondbacks last season.
He’s 0-1 with Toronto through four starts with a 4.79 ERA.
Globe Life Park in Arlington hasn’t been any friendlier for the right-hander in his 13-year career. He’s 0-4 in five career starts inside the stadium with a 6.00 ERA.
Blue Jays rookie third baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr., the top prospect in the majors who was called up from the minors last weekend, delivered his first major-league RBI in the 8-5 loss to the Rangers on Saturday night.
“I feel very happy with my first RBI,” he told reporters through a translator. “Hopefully, there are many more to come.”
Buchholz, who grew up about 300 miles south of Arlington in Lumberton, Tex., has given the Blue Jays a chance to win in his previous four outings, but a lack of run support has mostly hurt his chances.
His best opportunity came at the Minnesota Twins on April 18, when he entered the fifth inning with a 6-3 lead, but was lifted with two runners on base and two outs, leaving him ineligible for the win.
One statistic that stands out between this season and the last is the pitcher’s opponent’s batting average. Opponents are hitting .293 this season off Buchholz compared to .220 in 98 1/3 innings in 2018.
One player Buchholz will likely be extra careful with is Asdrubal Cabrera, who is 9-for-18 off him with two doubles and two home runs.
If and when Buchholz needs to come out of the game, Rangers manager Chris Woodward has growing confidence in his bullpen.
They allowed one run in four innings in a 1-0 loss to the Blue Jays in the series opener on Friday, and threw three shutout innings in the 8-5 win on Saturday.
Woodward has been especially high on Shawn Kelley, who threw an inning of relief on Friday and then came back and threw another scoreless inning on Saturday to earn the save.
“He doesn’t care,” Woodward said. “Put him in the fifth inning or close him, he doesn’t care.”
Woodward said that has a spillover affect with the other relievers.
“When that guy’s in the bullpen and having the success he’s having, sharing those kind of words with the rest of the group, it means a lot, and I can see it, because I put guys in different situations,” Woodward said. “That’s going to help us a lot moving forward because we’re not going to have a conventional bullpen.”
Texas starter Drew Smyly (0-2, 7.80 ERA) is scheduled to make his first start since April 19. He was on the 10-day injured list because of fatigue in his left arm.
Smyly, who underwent Tommy John surgery in the summer of 2017, hasn’t made it through the fourth inning in three of his first four starts and went five in the other.
Smyly has made 10 appearances against Toronto in his career, including seven starts. He’s 4-2 with a 2.76 ERA. He last faced the Blue Jays in 2016, when he
made five starts against them as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays and went 3-2 with a 3.68 ERA.