Rangers Martin Pérez Named to AL All-Star Team
Texas pitcher Martin Pérez was named the Rangers’ only All-Star on Sunday, as he’ll represent the team at the All-Star Game at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on July 19.
Pérez is on the team even though he’s coming one of his worst outings of the season on Saturday against Minnesota. Pérez gave up six earned runs in six innings, the second-most runs he’s given up in a start in 2022. Even so, he was in line for the win until the Twins tied the game at 7-7 in the eighth inning.
He’s on a 15-game undefeated streak (7-0 during that span), which ties him for the third-longest streak in franchise history.
Pérez should make one more start before the break, which is scheduled for Thursday against Seattle.
This will be his first All-Star Game appearance.
He is now 7-2 with a 2.72 ERA, which is No. 7 in the AL. At times this season, Pérez has led the AL in that category. He’s also struck out 86 and given up 26 walks, has a 1.18 WHIP and a 2.7 WAR. He’s one of only six AL pitchers to throw at least 100 innings this season.
Pérez was named both the Rangers Player of the Month for May and the American League Pitcher of the Month for May, a performance that put him on the All-Star Game radar.
Pérez finished the month of May with a 4-0 record. In 42 1/3rd innings pitcher, he had a 0.64 earned run average, 33 strikeouts and a 1.4 WAR.
Pérez had an impressive two-month start to the season and is making his one-year, $4 million contract with the Rangers look like a bargain. He also could be a trade target come July, if the Rangers are inclined to move him.
But, given how he’s pitched, it may take a significant offer to get the Rangers to bite.
During Pérez’s magnificent May, he did the following:
His 1.42 earned run average was the lowest in franchise history through a pitcher's first 10 starts in a season. The previous low was 1.60 by another left-hander, Kenny Rogers, in 1995.
From April 23 through the end of May, Pérez had eight straight quality starts and went 4-0 with a 0.65 ERA.
Per Stats Inc., Pérez was just the third MLB pitcher since 1913 — when earned runs were officially tracked — to post an eight-start span in which he went undefeated, did not allow a home run, had six or more innings pitched in each game and allowed one or fewer earned runs in each game. The other two pitchers were Hall of Famers Bob Gibson (1968) and Walter Johnson (1913-14).
Pérez was the fourth AL pitcher in the last 33 seasons to post a .64 ERA or lower with 40 innings pitched, joining Minnesota’s Johan Santana (0.46, September of 2004) and Oakland’s Cory Lidle (0.20, August of 2002) and Boston’s Pedro Martinez (0.64, July of 2022).
Only Yovani Gallardo (June of 2015, 0.54) had a lower ERA than Pérez in a month with at least five starts.
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