Rangers' Martin Perez: Twirls shutout

Perez (3-2) earned the win during Friday's 3-2 victory over Houston, allowing eight hits and one walk with five strikeouts in a complete-game shutout.

Perez had been pitching well lately but took his game to new heights Friday, keeping a potent Astros offense off the board in spinning just the third shutout by one pitcher of 2022. The 31-year-old tossed a season-high 108 pitches with only 13 of 73 strikes of the swinging variety; however, perhaps the most noteworthy item was manager Chris Woodward's trust after the tying run came to the plate in the ninth inning. Following two poor outings to open the season, Perez has allowed just three earned runs over his last 41.1 innings across six starts and owns a 1.64 ERA and 1.01 WHIP with a 38:12 K:BB in 49.1 innings. He'll go for an encore against Oakland next week.