The Rangers have pushed left-hander Cole Hamels up in their rotation, giving him three more starts this season. The alternative was to give him the ball in the first game of this weekend's key AL West series in Houston.
The Rangers (81-69) lead the Astros (80-72) by two games in the AL West, with 12 games remaining for Texas entering Wednesday.
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“We’d like to have our best out there for three more starts,” manager Jeff Banister said via the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “All games matter. It’s not just those three [at Houston]. It’s being able to take care of what we need to every day.”
Hamels is 4-1 with a 3.73 ERA in nine starts since being acquired by Texas before the July 31 trade deadline and will pitch Thursday's series finale against the A's. He is scheduled to start Sept. 29 vs. the Tigers and Oct. 4 vs. the Angels in the regular-season finale.
He would have started only once more, Sept. 30 vs. the Tigers, if he were to pitch Friday against the Astros.
The Astros, who have two off days remaining, hold a two-game lead over the Twins for the second wild card.
Even before the Rangers announced the rotation change, Hamels talked about the significance of each game.
“Every game is important, especially when it gets closer to the end of the season,” he said. “We’ve got limited starts. Every one is important.”
If Hamels is needed for the Oct. 4 start against the Angels, which has the potential be a must-win game for the Rangers to make the postseason, he would be in line to pitch Game 2 of a possible AL Division Series.
