I know: Another day, another mammoth homer by Joey Gallo.
But more exciting to the Rangers’ immediate future was the performance yesterday of another youngster – 24-year-old pitcher Martin Perez.
While Gallo was dropping jaws and damaging party tents with his third homer of the season in a win over the Indians, Perez served early notice that manager Jeff Banister can indeed count on him to be a solid part of the pitching rotation.
In his first outing of the Spring, the lefty went four innings and allowed only one run on five hits, four strikeouts and no walks.
He gave up two singles in the first, but avoided a big inning by getting Carlos Santana to hit into a double-play.
Gallo’s bat has Rangers fans excited for 2017 and beyond. But with Perez making quality starts as the No. 4 arm in the rotation, their 2016 should be much brighter as well.
A native Texan who was born in Duncanville and graduated from UT-Arlington, Richie Whitt has been a mainstay in the Metroplex media since 1986. He’s held prominent roles on all media platforms including newspaper (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Dallas Observer), radio (105.3 The Fan) and TV (co-host on TXA 21 and numerous guest appearances, including NBC 5). He lives in McKinney with his wife, Sybil, and two very spoiled dogs.
