Texas Rangers vs Colorado Rockies Game Two Notes: Kiner-Falefa Scratched, Woodward Discusses National Anthem

Isiah Kiner-Falefa is scratched from Saturday's lineup and Chris Woodward gives a heartfelt speech about the team's unity during the national anthem on Friday night.

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Texas Rangers look to capitalize on their victory in Friday night's season opener against the Rockies. 

Colorado Rockies (0-1) @ Texas Rangers (1-0)

Saturday, July 25, 2020
3:05 p.m. CT
Globe Life Field | Arlington, TX
Roof Closed

Probables
COL: RHP Jon Gray (0-0, -.-- ERA)
vs
TEX: LHP Mike Minor (0-0, -.-- ERA)

Broadcast

Colorado Rockies
TV: AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain
Radio: KOA

Texas Rangers
TV: FOX Sports Southwest
Radio: 105.3 The Fan, KFLC

Colorado Rockies Starting Lineup

1. CF David Dahl
2. SS Trevor Story
3. 3B Nolan Arenado
4. RF Charlie Blackmon
5. DH Matt Kemp
6. 1B Ryan McMahon
7. 2B Chris Owings
8. LF Garrett Hampson
9. C Drew Butera

Texas Rangers Starting Lineup

1. LF Shin-Soo Choo
2. SS Elvis Andrus
3. CF Danny Santana
4. RF Joey Gallo
5. 2B Rougned Odor
6. 3B Todd Frazier
7. DH Willie Calhoun
8. 1B Ronald Guzmán
9. C Jeff Mathis

Injury Report

Isiah Kiner-Falefa (left hamstring tightness)
Kiner-Falefa was originally in Saturday's lineup, but was scratched with left hamstring tightness. We should get an update from manager Chris Woodward on his status after the game.

Willie Calhoun (hip flexor strain)
Calhoun is the DH in Saturday's lineup. Woodward is not quite comfortable with Calhoun playing the field. He wants to see how he reacts 

Brett Martin (COVID-19)
Martin has been cleared for activity with the team. He threw a bullpen session on Monday. He will remain on the COVID-IL until he is ready to rejoin his teammates for games.

Joely Rodriguez (lat muscle strain)
He threw a bullpen session on Tuesday. Rodriguez said he feels good and Woodward said he looked good. He seems to be progressing nicely.

Rafael Montero (forearm tightness)
He has developed some tightness on the outside of his right forearm. His return has taken a little longer than the Rangers anticipated. They are being careful with him. They don't want to rush him since he was already behind after being late to camp due to the birth of his child.

Chris Woodward Discusses National Anthem

There had been an inordinate amount of speculation about what the Rangers would do during the national anthem prior to the season opener on Friday night. After a number of conversations between Rangers players and coaches, the team decided to do kneel or stand with the black ribbon prior to the national anthem and then stand during the anthem. 

Chris Woodward spoke for a few minutes about the issue. Rather than give only a few quotes out of it, I'd rather give you the quote in full context:

"The thing is, there's been so many conversations within our clubhouse, not only as a group, but personal conversations with each of these guys. It's a deep issue; it's a very, very deep issue. So I just get frustrated when people look at it from the peripheral and say 'Okay, you made this decision; this is what you stand for.' There are so many thoughts and emotions and feelings that go into every decision you make. That was pretty powerful for me. I have a lot of very very close friends of mine that are African-American and we've had many conversations about the injustices that they've had to deal with, experiences. I'm not basing this on any kind of numbers or any political party or anything like that. These are just experiences that I've personally heard from these people. They're powerful. They're very, very powerful to me. And the empathy that I have for them and what they've had to go through, I haven't had to go through. So I just felt 'You know what? If our players are willing to put themselves on the line like that…'

"And we weren't—we were standing for the anthem. That's one thing I want to make clear. A lot of people didn't understand what was happening at that point. I don't read social media too often, but I heard some comments that made me angry. We all stood for the anthem. So if people don't see that, and they're not willing to look and read into the details of what happened last night… we did not disrespect our flag, we did not disrespect our country; we were kneeling for racial equality. In support of that, and the fight against social injustice. That was it. That was it for me, and I stood alongside our guys, and I thought that was important. So it was a pretty powerful moment for me, and I wanted to make sure I had my players' and my staff members' back. And everybody in our organization, and everybody in our country, for that matter, that are African-American." 

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