Kumar Rocker News: Stumbles in fifth inning

Rocker (4-5) allowed three runs on six hits and two walks while striking out three over 4.2 innings to take the loss versus the Mariners on Thursday.

Rocker fell short of the five-inning mark for the third time in his last four outings, with solo home runs by Cole Young and Cal Raleigh accounting for most of the damage Thursday. Over that four-start span, Rocker has allowed 12 runs across 19.1 innings, giving up five homers with a 15:9 K:BB. He's now at a poor 5.74 ERA, 1.46 WHIP and 56:23 K:BB across 64.1 innings through 14 starts this season. With the Rangers acquiring Merrill Kelly from the Diamondbacks on Thursday, this may have been Rocker's last start in the majors for a while, as Jack Leiter and Patrick Corbin look like better bets to fill out the back of the Texas rotation.