Big 10: Rangers Ace Martín Pérez Shoots for Double Figures at Rockies

Martín Pérez takes to the hill for the Texas Rangers as they end a two-game series at the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday at 2:10 p.m. CT.

Pérez (9-4) will be looking for his 10th win of the season. The last time he won at least 10 games in a season was in 2019 when he went 10-7 for the Boston Red Sox. He also won 10 games in 2013, his first full season with the Rangers, and in 2016. He won a career-high 13 games with the Rangers in 2017 (13-12).

Wednesday will be his 25th start of the season. He started the first game of the six-game road trip, which was in Minnesota on Friday. He enters the game among American League leaders in innings pitched (4th, 148.0), bWAR (T4th, 3.7) and ERA (7th, 2.80). He’s posted quality starts in five of his last six starts, but saw his nine-game winning streak snapped on Aug. 9 in Houston, a game in which he allowed a season-high seven earned runs.

In Friday’s start he took the loss against the Twins in a 2-1 game in which he gave up two solo home runs in the first inning. He pitched six innings, gave up five hits and walked three while striking out seven.

Pérez has pitched four times against Colorado for his career, and he’s 0-2 with a 5.23 ERA, with 12 earned runs in just 20 innings pitched. His last start against the Rockies was on April 12 in a 4-1 Rangers loss at Globe Life Field, where he pitched just four innings and gave up seven hits and three runs.

At Coors Field in two starts he’s 0-1 with a 6.55 ERA. His last start in Denver was July 22, 2015, where he posted a quality start in a 19-8 win over the Rockies. Pérez pitched six innings, gave up six hits and four runs, three of which were earned.

Pérez has been the Rangers’ most consistent pitcher this season, earned his first All-Star Game berth, where he pitched a scoreless inning of relief, and was the AL Pitcher of the Month in May.

At one point he had a streak of 19 consecutive starts without taking a loss from April 23 to Aug. 3, which is the longest streak in the Majors this season and tied for the longest run in Washington/Texas franchise history (also Cole Hamels in 2015-16). But Pérez is the only Senator/Ranger to ever have 19 consecutive winless starts over the span of a single season.

Pérez’s nine-game winning streak from May 10 to July 29 is tied for the fourth longest in Rangers history (12-Cole Hamels, 2015-16; 12-Bobby Witt, 1990; 11-Fergie Jenkins, 1978-79; 9-Kenny Rogers, 2005).

With four strikeouts on Wednesday, he would pass his career high for strikeouts in a season (135).

You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard

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