Rangers Lineup vs. Yankees: Texas Working on Fly After Yankees Scratch

The Texas Rangers have set their lineup for the final game of their three-game series with the New York Yankees on Thursday.

Texas Rangers manager Skip Schumaker. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The Texas Rangers knew which New York Yankees starter they were facing on Thursday until Wednesday night. Then the Yankees threw them a curveball.

After the Rangers’ 6-1 win over the Yankees, manager Aaron Boone told reporters that New York was scratching right-hander Ryan Weathers due to an illness. Per MLB.com's Bryan Hoch, the Yankees will start Paul Blackburn.

Texas had likely considered how to arrange its lineup for Thursday well before the scratch for a couple of reasons. First, Weathers was the probable pitcher the Yankees set for the game. Second, Thursday’s is a day game after a night game and that usually requires teams to tweak their lineup.

For instance, most teams won't use the same catcher the day game after a night game. But the Rangers also must get on a plane after this game and go back home for a six-game homestand that starts on Friday. That’s a consideration, too.

Another consideration is the how the Rangers are handling outfielder Brandon Nimmo. Since tweaking his hamstring last Wednesday against the Yankees, Nimmo has started one game in right field that he didn't complete, played two games at designated hitter and not played in two other games on this road trip. Would the Rangers risk playing their leadoff hitter in two games in less than 24 hours?

Those were all considerations Texas had to account for as it set its lineup for Thursday's game. In many respects, matchups didn’t matter nearly as much as making sure the roster didn’t get overextended.

Rangers Lineup on May 7

Texas Rangers' Ezequiel Duran. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

DH Brandon Nimmo (L)

LB Ezequiel Duran

SS Corey Seager (L)

3B Josh Jung

RF Joc Pederson (L)

1B Jake Burger

CF Evan Carter (L)

C Danny Jansen

2B Justin Foscue

LHP MacKenzie Gore

The Rangers will face the Chicago Cubs Friday through Sunday. Neither the Rangers nor the Cubs have set their probables yet. But the front office is looking at that consideration as well. If Chicago stays on time with its rotation, the Rangers will face a left-hander on Friday night in Matthew Boyd, followed by two right-handers in Edward Cabrera and Jameson Taillon. But, Boyd tore mensicus earlier in the week, which is why the Cubs haven't set their probables yet.

After that, the Rangers will face the Arizona Diamondbacks for three games on Monday through Wednesday. The contest offers a potential reunion with Merrill Kelly, who joined the Rangers for the final two months of last season only for him to return to Arizona in free agency.