ARLINGTON, Texas — Kumar Rocker, a first-round pick in both the 2021 and ’22 drafts, won for the first time in the major leagues Thursday night.
Rocker struck out a career-best eight in a career-best seven innings and the Texas Rangers beat the Los Angeles Angels 5-3 to complete a three-game sweep.
Rocker (1-2) threw a career-high 78 pitches and allowed three runs on five hits without a walk. The 25-year-old right-hander was drafted third overall by Texas in 2022, a year after concerns over a physical led to him going unsigned by the New York Mets as the 10th overall pick. He made his big league debut in September and was 0-2 last season.
“It feels great, it felt real good,” Rocker said. “And I’m happy it happened.”
Rocker opened the season in the starting rotation with multiple Texas starters on the injured list and was rocked for six runs in three innings at Cincinnati on March 31. In his most recent outing, Saturday at Seattle, he gave up four runs, three earned, in 3 1/3 innings.
The biggest difference Thursday night was overall command — throwing 58 strikes, allowing no walks — and specifically command of his slider.
“The biggest thing — we talk about it all the time — is location,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “He had really good location tonight.”
Rocker credited catcher Kyle Higashioka with calling a good game.
“And I just kept them off balance,” he said.
Most critical was his strikeout of Mike Trout to end the fifth inning with a 4-3 lead leaving runners at first and second after the Angels scored twice in the inning. Rocker threw a 1-2 four-seam fastball, and Trout’s check swing was called a strike by first base umpire Lance Barrett.
It’s possible Rocker was pitching to hold his spot in the rotation. Jack Leiter, Rocker’s former Vanderbilt University teammate, should return from the injured list soon after being sidelined by a blister.
“It shows he can do it. He can do it again,” Bochy said. “That’s a great way to get your first win, seven innings. He’s got the stuff to be a really nice major league pitcher, be a dominant one.”
Now, Rocker has a statement performance to point to — coincidentally, Rocker’s first seven-inning outing since his Vandy days.
“As I’m learning and as I’m going week to week, it’s hard to do it at this level,” Rocker said. “Just keep looking at older guys, watching them do their thing and trying to stay positive and trying to stay calm.”
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