Pitch effectively and the rest will take care of itself.
That's the rationale of Texas Rangers left-hander Martin Perez, who will aim to lead the visiting Texas Rangers to a series victory against the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday night while trying to win for the first time in nearly a month
Perez (6-3, 4.54 ERA) won six of his first seven decisions but hasn't earned a victory since delivering seven innings of two-run ball on May 24 at Pittsburgh.
Apart from a seven-run, 10-hit disaster at Tampa Bay on June 11, Perez largely has held steady over the past four starts. He scattered two runs and three hits in six innings in his most recent outing Friday against Toronto but simply didn't receive enough run support in his team's 2-1 loss.
"I just wanted to go out there and give us a chance to win," Perez said. "I don't really look at my numbers. I just want to win. I know that if I go out there and do my job, something good is going to happen. (Friday) we didn't score a lot, but that's part of the game."
To be sure, the Rangers' attack has perked up since Perez last took the mound
Texas has scored 26 runs over the past four games while going 3-1. Corey Seager went 3-for-4 with five RBIs Tuesday, but the Rangers' bullpen couldn't hold a two-run lead in the eighth as the White Sox rallied for a 7-6 victory
Chicago shortstop and leadoff man Tim Anderson missed his third straight start with a shoulder injury, but he pinch-hit with two on and one out in the eighth. Anderson grounded out before Elvis Andrus tied the game with a two-run single. Zach Remillard delivered the go-ahead single one batter later on a play overturned by replay review.
The throw from left field beat Andrus to the plate, but a Chicago challenge revealed Rangers catcher Jonah Heim was blocking the plate. Chicago avoided a fifth loss in six games behind a catcher's interference call
"Very happy that they overturned it to our way," Andrus said. "It's all about winning. It's all about trying to get on a winning streak with this team. That's what I'm thinking about."
The White Sox will try to secure their second home series victory in three tries this month. Right-hander Michael Kopech, a native Texan, is set to get the start
As with Perez, Kopech (3-5, 3.92 ERA) also has gone without a victory since May 24 despite pitching well in his four starts since then.
Kopech has been especially sharp in June, pitching to a 1.65 ERA in three starts, all no-decisions. Kopech has 29 strikeouts over his past four outings.
In eight career starts against Chicago, Perez is 3-3 with a 5.94 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 47 innings.
Kopech has faced the Rangers five times, including three starts. He is 1-1 with a 4.09 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 11 innings
--Field Level Media