Martin Perez has had an awful time with his control this year. At the same time, he's been supremely lucky in the double play department.
Sure, Perez is a groundball pitcher by trade, but his 13 double plays induced is an insane total, as well, considering it matches his season totals from 2013 and 2014 and exceeds his 2015 total.
Against a struggling Toronto lineup, but a right-handed heavy one, Perez will need to cut down on the walks -- he's averaging five walks per nine innings -- and not give the Blue Jays free base runners.
Perez walked five in his last outing and faced serious trouble in the third before pitching the next three innings with relative ease and not allowing any more runs. He struck out seven, which was by far a season-high, so he was able to get out of some trouble from his five walks.
Perez's 3.51 ERA is respectable, but the way he's gotten there is a bit deceiving and probably isn't sustainable. If he has a game where he walks as many as he strikes out against Toronto, it could end badly.
Just last week, Perez faced Toronto and threw five scoreless innings, but his lack of control worked his pitch count up to 90 and he was finished. The Rangers' bullpen needs more from him on Friday.
