In his 11th year in the majors, at 31 years old, Martín Pérez is authoring his best...
Texas Rangers starting pitcher Martin Perez reacts after Houston Astros Yuli Gurriel lined out to end an MLB game at Minute Maid Park on Friday, May 20, 2022 in Houston. Perez had a complete game shutout, Rangers won 3-0.If opponents should want to pick apart the Astros — and they do — they need look no further than Martín Pérez. The Rangers’ veteran starting pitcher has solved the Astros. He’s solved most teams, really.
“He’s found the formula against us — well, against everybody,” Astros manager Dusty Baker said. “I guess what really helped him was he threw three double plays. He got six outs on three pitches and that keeps your pitch count low. And so he threw a good game against us. He was keeping the ball down. He’s cutting some and sinking others, which creates a double play. And also he had a really good changeup and he didn’t use his breaking ball much but he was splitting the plate. He can pitch.
Pérez used every pitch in his repertoire against the Astros, relying primarily on his changeup and sinker. He consistently induced soft contact and fired 73 of his pitches for strikes while working his way efficiently through the lineup.