In a shocking development, the Texas Rangers left-hander Brock Burke was placed on the injured list on Saturday with a fractured hand. The injury occurred after Burke punched a wall in frustration following a poor outing against the Houston Astros on Friday night. During that game, Burke gave up four runs on three hits in just two outs during the Astros’ five-run seventh inning. Despite his recent struggles, which include this poor outing being his second consecutive bad appearance, Burke has an impressive 3.88 ERA and a 3.58 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 116 career outings.
In response to Burke’s injury, the Rangers made corresponding moves by purchasing the contract of veteran right-hander Austin Pruitt and transferring infielder Justin Foscue to the 60-day injured list. Pruitt has a solid 4.43 ERA in 310 career big-league innings, most recently posting a 2.98 ERA with the Oakland Athletics. Foscue sustained an oblique injury in just his second big-league game.
Despite these setbacks, the Rangers remain optimistic about their chances for success this season as they currently hold an impressive 8-6 record and are leading the American League East standings with first place.
