MLB Game Preview - Detroit at Texas

Sun Aug 4, 2019 3:05 PM EDT

Texas Rangers manager Chris Woodward will shuffle his lineups quite a bit the rest of the season, as the club wants to take a longer look at some younger players.

The Rangers designated two veterans for assignment after the trade deadline. Additionally, productive players like Shin-Soo Choo and Hunter Pence will receive fewer starts. Choo wasn't in the lineup for Texas' 5-4, 10-inning victory over he Detroit Tigers on Saturday.

The host Rangers will look to complete a three-game sweep of the downtrodden Tigers on Sunday.

"I don't want to give too many guys too much time off," Woodward told MLB.com. "Everybody is affected. One of the things I've asked the entire organization is to put your egos aside. Everybody is going to sacrifice playing time."

Outfielder Scott Heineman will be one of the beneficiaries. He made his major league debut on Friday and had two hits. He went 0-for-3 with a walk on Saturday.

Former catcher Isiah Kiner-Falefa was also recalled from Triple-A Nashville on Friday and started at third base on Saturday.

"I am excited," Kiner-Falefa said of the position change, via MLB.com. "Catching was always my secondary thing. I don't have too much experience doing it. I thought I did a really good job for the time I was given and the opportunities I was given. ... Now, I'm in my home position. I feel like myself again."

Rangers right-hander Pedro Payano (0-0, 3.18 ERA) is scheduled to make his second major league start. In his first start on July 28, he allowed three runs on six hits in 5 1/3 innings against the Athletics at Oakland, getting a no-decision in the 6-5 defeat. He'll be making his fourth overall appearance and first in the Rangers' home park.

Payano will be opposed by veteran right-hander Jordan Zimmermann, who is coming off a satisfying victory. He recorded his first win of the season on Monday, holding the Los Angeles Angels to two runs on four hits in 5 1/3 innings.

Zimmermann (1-8, 7.23 ERA) is 1-2 with a 3.00 ERA in three career starts against the Rangers, including a loss in Detroit on June 25 in which he allowed three runs in five innings.

Outfielder Travis Demeritte has given the Tigers a spark since he was acquired from the Atlanta Braves at the trade deadline. Demeritte tripled, walked twice, scored a run and stole a base in his major league debut on Friday. He walked twice more on Saturday.

Demeritte was a first-round selection by the Rangers in 2013 and has finally reached the highest level.

"It was tough," he told the Detroit News of his time in the minors. "I definitely had some maturing to do throughout that process. It's been a long road. You learn what your priorities are in life and who you are as a person. What works for you and what doesn't. I had to go through the same trials and tribulations that everybody else does."

Demeritte was stuck in Triple-A before joining the Tigers, who dealt All-Star closer Shane Greene to the Braves. There's playing time available in the outfield, after right fielder Nicholas Castellanos was traded to the Chicago Cubs on the same day.

Demeritte socked 28 doubles, two triples and 20 homers in 96 games with Gwinnett this season. Putting his mind at ease has helped him become a better player.

"That was the biggest adjustment I've made -- just relax," he told the News. "I've put too much pressure on myself at times to be great -- not great, but perfect. I wanted to be perfect, and that's just mentally draining."

--Field Level Media