Kumar Rocker scuffles over 4 1/3 in loss to Tigers

It was his shortest outing since May 2. Rocker gave up two runs in the first inning, a result of him failing to cover first base after Jake Burger made a diving play. It would get worse in the second inning, as he served up homers to Colton Cowser and Pete Alonso. Rocker was pulled after issuing a leadoff walk in the fourth inning. The loss dropped him to 4-9 on the year while his ERA shot back up to 4.46. That’s the highest it’s been since mid-May. Rocker will try to get back on track against the injury-riddled A’s in his next start, but it’s a tough assignment in Sacramento.

Rocker had pretty awful luck today, and he did well to limit the damage to three runs. He actually allowed just four hard-hit balls, and the big blow, Jeremy Peña’s two-run homer to left in the fourth, would have been a double or maybe even a single in the majority of ballparks. Rocker struck out five and walked two. He’ll face the Orioles next weekend. He remains a mediocre option in mixed leagues.

Rocker leaned on his slider today, recording all seven of his strikeouts with the pitch. He got 12 whiffs on 22 swings at that offering and just two on 24 swings when he threw anything else. He’s won back-to-back starts to move to 4-8 with a 4.03 ERA on the season. That’s good enough for him to continue to stick as a starter, but with just the one truly above average pitch at his disposal, it’s still hard not to wonder if he’d be better utilized as a short reliever. He’ll go for three wins in a row Sunday in Houston.

Rocker struck out six and walked two in his fifth scoreless start of the year. The victory was his first since May 19 and third overall against eight losses this year. He’ll try to build on the positive effort against the Rays in a road start on Tuesday.

Rocker gave up eight hits, walked two and struck out six. He fell to 2-8 with the loss. Rocker was done in by the home run as all seven runs he allowed came on the three home runs he allowed. His ERA is up to 4.40 heading into the All-Star break.

Rocker will receive an extra day of rest with Cal Quantrill being moved up to take the ball on Saturday afternoon against Detroit. The 26-year-old has strung together back-to-back strong outings, striking out 14 batters and allowing just two runs over 11 innings against the Blue Jays and Marlins in his last two starts. There’s some definite streaming appeal for fantasy managers in deeper mixed leagues based on his recent efforts.

Rocker was brilliant against the Blue Jays on Sunday. He scattered four hits and one walk, with just two runners reaching scoring position against Rocker. He tossed 60 of 92 pitches for strikes and struck out five batters. The 26-year-old right-hander will take a 3.83 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, and a 70/31 K/BB ratio across 80 innings into a start against the Tigers in Texas on Saturday.

Rocker took over after opener Tyler Alexander fired a perfect first inning and authored one of the strongest outings of his career, needing just 76 pitches to navigate five frames. He generated an eye-popping 20 swinging strikes and finished with an other-worldly 46 percent CSW. It was a much-needed rebound performance after getting torched for seven runs over 3 1/3 innings by the Twins his last time out. He limited Miami to just five hits and got some help from his defense as a perfect relay throw from Ezequiel Duran cut down Xavier Edwards at the plate as the potential go-ahead run to end the sixth inning. He’ll get the ball against the Blue Jays in a tough road matchup on Saturday to finish off a two-start week. He’s been extremely volatile from a results standpoint, but his immense strikeout potential makes him an interesting streaming option until further notice.

Rocker has been taking advantage of the pitcher friendly conditions at Globe Life Field this season, but they didn’t help much tonight. He gave up a pair of homers, the first leading off the game from Trevor Larnach and the second, from Kody Clemens, following a single and a walk to open the third. His home ERA jumped from 3.02 to 4.00, putting him at 4.17 overall. He needs to miss more bats in order to get over the hump and become something more than No. 5 starter. It doesn’t help that his average fastball has dropped from 95.8 mph last year to 94.4 mph this season.

The 26-year-old righty issued a pair of walks on the day while punching out three opposing hitters. All of the damage done against him came in the fourth inning. The Royals loaded the bases with no outs, then he got Michael Massey to hit into a double play that pushed a run across, and Kameron Misner followed with an RBI single. Rocker got seven whiffs on 83 pitches on the day, posting a CSW of 25 percent. He’ll bring a 3.56 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and a 52/28 K/BB ratio (65 2/3 innings) into Tuesday’s battle against the Twins.