Scherzer (back) is still in a holding pattern while waiting for the soreness in his right thumb to subside, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports.
Texas manager Bruce Bochy said the thumb improves every day, but Scherzer is not yet at the point where he can play catch. The right-hander threw 52 pitches in his first rehab start but experienced thumb soreness afterwards. His next rehab start, scheduled for April 30, was pushed back.
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Rangers' Travis Jankowski: Fills in for injured starter
Rotowire
Jankowski entered Saturday's game for an injured Wyatt Langford (hamstring) and went 1-for-2 with a stolen base, two RBI and two runs scored in a 15-4 win over Kansas City.
Langford was scheduled for an MRI on Sunday, which will inform his expected absence. Jankowski, who has just 31 plate appearances in this season, could be in line for more starts; however, the Rangers can get by with Evan Carter, Leody Taveras and Adolis Garcia in the outfield on most nights.
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Rangers' Marc Church: Shifts to Triple-A's 60-day IL
Rotowire
Triple-A Round Rock transferred Church (shoulder) from its 7-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Wednesday.
Church doesn't look as though he'll be ready to return to action for Round Rock until around mid-June while he recovers from a right shoulder strain. The 23-year-old reliever was originally placed on Round Rock's 7-day IL on April 18 due to the injury.
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Rangers' Antoine Kelly: Returns from IL on Friday
Rotowire
Kelly (shoulder) was reinstated from the 7-day injured list Friday and struck out one over a scoreless inning of relief in Triple-A Round Rock's 13-1 win over Albuquerque.
Kelly was shelved for just under a month with a shoulder injury before he returned to action for Round Rock earlier this week. The southpaw has made four appearances out of the Triple-A bullpen this season, striking out six while allowing one earned run on two hits and two walks over 3.2 innings.
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Rangers' Wyatt Langford: Held out of Sunday's lineup
Rotowire
Langford (hamstring) is out of the lineup for Sunday's game at Kansas City.
The 22-year-old departed Saturday's contest due to right hamstring tightness and will miss at least one start. Corey Seager will serve as the DH while Langford sits on Sunday, as Josh Smith starts at shortstop and Ezequiel Duran at third base.
Rangers' Nathaniel Lowe: Racks up four hits Saturday
Rotowire
Lowe went 4-for-6 with a double, two runs and two RBI against the Royals in Saturday's 15-4 victory.
The Rangers pounded Kansas City pitching for 17 hits in the win, and Lowe was a big contributor from the No. 3 slot in the lineup with a season-high four base knocks. The first baseman began the campaign on the injured list due to a right oblique strain, but he's slid into Texas' offense comfortably since returning, reaching base safely via hit or walk in all but one of his 13 contests. Lowe is slashing .333/.418/.458 with a home run, nine runs, four RBI and a stolen base through 55 plate appearances.
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Rangers' Dane Dunning: Doesn't go deep enough to win
Rotowire
Dunning allowed two runs on four hits and one walk while striking out four batters over 4.2 innings in a no-decision against Kansas City on Saturday.
Texas jumped out a 7-0 lead through four innings, which appeared to set Dunning up for an easy win. Meanwhile, the right-hander cruised through those four frames, facing the minimum 12 batters. However, Dunning ran into trouble in the top of the fifth, allowing four Royals to reach base in a span of five hitters, resulting in two runs and a two-out hook. That prevented Dunning from qualifying for the victory, which would have given him his first winning streak of the campaign. He still managed to lower his season ERA slightly to 4.10, but it was a disappointing outing after Dunning punched out 10 batters in a dominant win his previous time on the mound.
Rangers' Wyatt Langford: Departs with hamstring tightness
Rotowire
Langford exited Saturday's game against the Royals in the fifth inning due to right hamstring tightness, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.
Langford slowed up noticeably while trying to beat out a dribbler in front of the plate in the top of the fifth inning and was removed for defense prior to the bottom of the frame. The rookie figures to be sent for an MRI to determine the extent of the injury. Langford was hitless in three plate appearances Saturday before being lifted.
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Rangers' Michael Lorenzen: Quality start in no-decision
Rotowire
Lorenzen allowed one earned run on four hits and three walks while striking out three batters in six innings during Friday's loss to the Royals. He didn't factor into the decision.
Despite allowing a fair amount of traffic on the bases, Lorenzen was able to keep the Royals' bats quiet for six innings outside of a fifth-inning solo home run off the bat of Hunter Renfroe. Lorenzen now sports a 3.52 ERA through across 23 innings through his first four starts, and he should have an opportunity to stay hot as he faces the A's in Oakland on Wednesday.
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Rangers' Corey Seager: Fighting slump
Rotowire
Seager went 2-for-4 with an RBI in Friday's 7-1 loss to Kansas City.
Seager delivered the Rangers' lone run with a single in the third inning. He's been mired in a slump and entered Friday's game batting .073 (3-for-41) with two RBI over the previous 11 games. Rangers general manager Chris Young took the long view when speaking with Kenndi Landry of MLB.com, indicating the club expected Seager to need some time to get going after undergoing hernia surgery in January. Young also feels there has been some bad luck, which speaks to the shortstop's .269 BABIP.
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Rangers' Cole Winn: Hits first snag in majors
Rotowire
Winn (0-1) was charged with Friday's loss after giving up four runs on four hits over one-third of an inning against the Royals.
Winn entered a 1-1 game to start the seventh inning and allowed four singles before his removal. The 24-year-old breezed through his introduction to MLB, throwing seven scoreless innings over five outings (zero hits, one walk, seven strikeouts) before facing his first adversity Friday. Texans general manager Chris Young raved about the right-hander to Kenndi Landry of MLB.com earlier this week, noting Winn was attacking the strike zone. Walks have been issue in the past for Winn, whose strikes may have caught too much of the zone Friday.
Heim is out of the lineup for Friday's game at Kansas City.
Heim started the previous six games and will receive a day off after going 4-for-19 with no extra-base hits during that span. Andrew Knizner will step in behind the plate to catch Michael Lorenzen.
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Rangers' Wyatt Langford: Receiving Friday off
Rotowire
Langford is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Royals.
Langford started the previous 15 games and will receive a day to reset after he posted a .542 OPS during that stretch. Travis Jankowski will bat eighth as the designated hitter Friday for Texas.
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Rangers' Yerry Rodriguez: Brought up from Triple-A
Rotowire
Rodriguez was recalled from Triple-A Round Rock on Friday.
Rodriguez will fill the spot of Nathan Eovaldi (groin), who was placed on the 15-day IL on Friday. In six appearances with the Rangers this season, Rodriguez garnered a 10.50 ERA and a 2.50 WHIP with three home runs allowed.
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Rangers' Nathan Eovaldi: Put on injured list
Rotowire
Eovaldi was placed on the 15-day injured list on Friday with a strained right groin.
Eovaldi underwent an MRI on Friday which confirmed a right groin strain. He'll join Max Scherzer (back) on the shelf, while Yerry Rodriguez will join the big-league roster. Eovaldi's next start was scheduled for Tuesday, an opening that could be filled by Jack Leiter, who's currently in Triple-A.
