The weekend series between Texas and Detroit has featured a brotherly sideshow.
Third basemen Josh Jung of the Rangers and Jace Jung of the Tigers have been holding a family reunion as their teams square off. Their parents have been in town, adding to the familial atmosphere.
The series finale will be played Sunday afternoon in Detroit.
“It’s super cool for us and super cool for the family,” Josh Jung said. “Especially with it falling on Mother’s Day. It’s truly remarkable.”
Josh had one hit in four at-bats and Jace went 0-for-3 in Texas’ 10-3 victory on Saturday, which ended the Tigers’ five-game winning streak.
Until this weekend, the Jung brothers had been separated on the ballfield for quite awhile as they moved through the minors and into their pro careers.
“The last time my brother and I were on the same field, we were playing together and my dad was actually one of the coaches,” Josh Jung, 27, told the Detroit News prior to the series. “That was my senior year in high school (MacArthur High in San Antonio). Jace (now 24) was a freshman. Here we are, eight years later and we’re on a big-league field together. That’s pretty special.”
Detroit will have to cool off shortstop Corey Seager to start another streak. Seager had a pretty special night of his own, smashing two solo home runs and an RBI double on Saturday.
“A frustrating night that we can get away from today and try to win the series tomorrow,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said.
Seager returned to action after getting two games off to rest his gimpy hamstring, which landed him on the injured list last month.
“It’s not quite 100 percent and we’re going to have our moments where we have to give him a break,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “It tightened up on him (Wednesday) and you don’t want to risk it getting worse.”
Seager upped his season home run total to six with his 19th career multi-homer game.
Reese Olson, who hasn’t allowed a run in three of his last four starts, will take the mound for the Tigers. Olson (4-2, 3.03 ERA) received six days off after holding the Los Angeles Angels scoreless for 5 2/3 innings. He limited them to three hits while piling up a season-high eight strikeouts.
The right-hander is 0-1 with a 2.25 ERA in two career starts against Texas. He’s never faced Seager in his young career.
Nathan Eovaldi (3-2, 2.03) will start the series finale for the Rangers. Eovaldi has notched four straight quality outings, going six innings each time and allowing two or fewer earned runs.
In his first May outing on Tuesday, Eovaldi held Boston to one run and five hits, walking one and striking out seven. Eovaldi’s control has been stellar throughout his first eight starts — he’s walked just four while recording 53 strikeouts in 48 2/3 innings.
Eovaldi has enjoyed good success against Detroit during his career. In seven starts, he’s posted a 4-0 record and 3.00 ERA. He had a no-decision against the Tigers last season while giving up one run in 5 2/3 innings while notching seven strikeouts.
–Field Level Media
