Rangers Lineup Without Corey Seager, Brandon Nimmo Against Red Sox

The Texas Rangers have released their lineup for the second game of their three-game series with the Boston Red Sox on Saturday.

Texas Rangers shortstop Corey Seager. | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

After being blown out by the Boston Red Sox on Friday, the matchups get harder for the Texas Rangers on Saturday.

For the next two days, the Rangers will face left-handed starting pitchers, beginning with Ranger Suarez on Saturday, with first pitch set for 3:10 p.m. central time.

Suarez (2-3, 3.18) got off to a rough start this season but in his last seven games he is 1-1 with a 2.61 ERA. He’s also a matchup problem for Texas just because he’s a left-handed pitcher. While Texas has gotten better against left-handers, the slash (.225/.304/.386) is still well below where it is against right-handed pitching (.241/.319/.380).

Because of that, the Rangers won’t start designated hitter Joc Pederson due to the left-on-left matchup. But the bigger question was whether shortstop Corey Seager would return to the lineup after a day off on Friday?

Texas Rangers Lineup for May 13

Texas Rangers designated hitter Brandon Nimmo. | Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

LF Wyatt Langford

DH Justin Foscue

3B Josh Jung

RF Ezequiel Duran

1B Jake Burger

2B Cody Freeman

CF Michael Helman

C Elias Diaz

SS Nicky Lopez (L)

Brandon Nimmo is not playing on Saturday as it is a planned day off for the right fielder. Ezequiel Duran will play right field in his place.

Segaer was held out of Friday’s game after he was suffering from some lingering jaw and rib soreness after a home plate collision with Kansas City Royals catcher Carter Jensen on Thursday. Seager played through the rest of that game. But weather also delayed the start of that game by more than two hours, which meant the Rangers got to Boston later than they expected.

The two-time World Series MVP spent two weeks on the injured list with lower back inflammation. After his worst slump to start a season, his bat has gotten some traction. He’s slashed .238/.273/.524 with two home runs and four RBI in five games since he returned.

Nimo is the most experienced Rangers batter against Suarez. He played with the New York Mets for a decade and faced Suarez several times when he was with the Philadelphia Phillies. Unfortunately, Nimmo is a .148 hitter against Suarez in 27 at-bats.

The Rangers hitter with the best average against Suarez is Diaz, who didn’t play on Friday and has a .278 batting average in 18 at-bats. First baseman Jake Burger also faced Suarez quite a bit in the NL East when he was with the Miami Marlins. But he didn’t record a hit in 11 at-bats.

As for Seager, he has a .175 average against him in seven career at-bats. No one in the Rangers’ lineup has homered off him and only Diaz and Nimmo have driven in a run.