Neville E. Guard-USA TODAY Sports
Glenn Otto, Rangers Roll into September
Glenn Otto put together, perhaps, his best month of the 2022 season. Now, can he take that momentum with him when the Texas Rangers face the Boston Red Sox Thursday night at Fenway Park?
Otto wrapped up August with his last start on Friday against Detroit. Otto (6-8) took the victory in the Rangers’ 7-6 win over the Tigers. Otto only pitched five innings, giving up five hits, four earned runs, walked two and struck out three in throwing 80 pitches. He retired the first seven hitters he faced and left with a three-run lead. Taylor Hearn and the bullpen held it.
The Rangers are coming off a five-game homestand against Detroit and Houston, which Martín Pérez closed out on Wednesday.
Otto finished August with a 2-1 record, a 2.93 ERA (he gave up just 10 earned runs in 27 2/3 innings) and allowed batters to hit 1.78 against him. In that span, he shaved his ERA down by nearly a point — from 5.50 to 4.79.
The rookie continues to get more consistent. Even though he leads the team in losses with eight, he also has eight starts in which he’s pitched at least five innings.
The Red Sox present him a chance to further build on that momentum, with approximately four or five turns left in the rotation.
It also gives Otto a little shot at redemption after a miserable start against Boston earlier this season.
On May 14, Otto took his first loss of the season at home against Boston. He threw just four innings in the 11-3 loss, giving up eight hits, eight runs (all earned) and four walks while striking out two.
Otto struggled early in that start, giving up a least a run in each inning, along with home runs to J.D. Martinez and Rafael Devers in the first two innings. The eight earned runs Otto allowed remain his season high.
In fact, the closest Otto came to that season high was his first start post-COVID-19 injured list on June 26, when he gave up six earned runs against Washington in two innings.
The Rangers are 9-11 in Otto’s starts this season.
Texas plans to start Dallas Keuchel on Friday night in Boston. Saturday’s starter is to be announced, but Kohei Arihara — who would have taken that spot — will come out of the bullpen for now. Dane Dunning will start the series finale on Sunday.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard
Catch up with Inside the Rangers on Facebook and Twitter.
