Texas rookie keeps scoreless start intact thanks to ball boy and pickle juice

Texas Rangers rookie Kumar Rocker kept a scoreless start intact by working through an eventful fifth inning that included downing three small bottles of pickle juice, the last of which resulted in a mound visit charged to a ball boy.

The 25-year-old right-hander had already chugged two bottles of the dehydration-fighting juice in the dugout as he dealt with cramping in his legs before getting the victory in a 2-1 win over the Chicago White Sox on Sunday.

“I think he broke the record on bottles of pickle juice he drank today,” Texas manager Bruce Bochy said.

After Rocker struck out Michael A. Taylor for the first out of the fifth, the trainer visited the mound along with Bochy and pitching coach Mike Maddux.

During the roughly five minutes the staff and the infielders were at the mound, first baseman Jake Burger went to the dugout, grabbed two small bottles of pickle juice and jogged back to the mound with the electrolyte-filled containers.

Rocker quickly downed both bottles, then stretched his legs and threw several warmup pitches, with another break in between for another chat with the trainer.

Rocker stayed in the game and gave up a single to Josh Rojas. With Mike Tauchman at the plate, a ball boy jogged to the mound with a third bottle of pickle juice, which Rocker promptly drank and gave back to him.

Home plate umpire Marvin Hudson, the crew chief, huddled with the other three umpires, and they ruled the Rangers should be charged with a mound visit for the ball boy’s trip. The coaching staff is only allowed one mound visit per inning without having to pull the pitcher from the game, and the Rangers used theirs on a ball boy and pickle juice.

“When he came out there, I said, ‘Oh no,’” Rocker said. “That was a good one. That was a different one.”

Rocker retired Tauchman on a grounder to Burger, and after another trip to the mound from the trainer, Rocker got out of the inning with a groundout from Chase Meidroth.

Getting through the fifth gave Rocker (2-4) a shot at being the winning pitcher. The Rangers led 2-0 when Rocker was replaced by Jacob Webb to start the sixth.

“I drank everything today,” Rocker said with a smile and a chuckle after allowing four singles and a walk with six strikeouts.

Webb gave up a solo homer to Miguel Vargas, but the right-hander and two more Texas relievers held the White Sox scoreless over the final 3 2/3 innings. Luke Jackson finished for his ninth save.

Rocker was recalled from Triple-A Round Rock and started in place of right-hander Tyler Mahle on the same the day that Mahle was placed on the injured list with right shoulder fatigue.

The former Vanderbilt star had been sent to the minors for development after rough starts on either side of a rehab stint. Rocker spent time on the injured list with a right shoulder impingement.

Mahle’s injury forced Rocker back to the big leagues earlier than planned, and he probably earned another start with his outing — as long as he can keep himself hydrated.

“It’s a great opportunity,” Rocker said. “To help these guys, you’ve got to be a winning player. And just one day at a time, that’s all you can do. It’s been a fun week.”

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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