ARLINGTON - Late-arriving Martin Perez joined the Rangers’ “I’m A Winner” club on Wednesday night.
Perez, winless for his first four starts of the season, handled the New York Yankees for six innings in a 3-2 victory at Globe Life Park. It was “not his cleanest outing,” manager Jeff Banister said, but it was a thing of beauty to Perez.
“I feel happy to get my first win,” Perez said. “I’m going to continue to win. This is a good start. This year is going to be a good year for my team and me, too.”
Each of the Rangers’ five regular starters has a win, and the rotation is tied for second in the American League with 10 victories. The Chicago White Sox lead with 13 rotation wins.
Banister stopped short of describing Perez as frustrated by pitching well but not getting a win in his previous starts. Banister gained insight into Perez during a conversation after his last start, a loss on Friday to the Chicago White Sox.
Perez was honest in his self-evaluation of what went wrong rather than wallowing in a woe-is-me attitude.
“I think it’s a good sign,” Banister said of Perez’ honest assessment. “It’s a sign of maturity. Any time you can acknowledge where you need to be better is a good thing.
“That means you’re in the middle of a growth period. I think we see that in Martin.”
Perez had help.
White-hot Elvis Andrus, given another chance at left-hander C.C. Sabathia by Yankees manager Joe Girardi, drove in the lead run with a two-out triple in the sixth inning.
Andrus is hitting .380 for his last 50 at-bats. He is also 11-for-25 lifetime against Sabathia. Girardi said Sabathia “deserved to be out there” against Andrus because he was throwing well and had retired him twice.
“Because he (Sabathia) is that good, he makes me try to focus a little bit more to get at least one hit,” said Andrus, who has driven in 13 runs overall.
Relievers Jake Diekman and Shawn Tolleson handled the final three innings. Diekman did not mess around, blowing away all six hitters faced.
With the game at a crossroads, pitching coach Doug Brocail got Perez back on track with a mound visit in the fourth.
Perez opened the fourth with a 2-1 lead and gave it back on a two-out homer by Alex Rodriguez, who clubbed a high change-up over the heart of the plate. The next two hitters reached on singles.
These are the times when Perez let games spin out of control. In the dugout, Banister and Brocail could see the dark clouds gathering. Brocail went to the mound to try and get Perez back on track.
It was a simple conversation. Brocail, a calming presence, asked Perez what he wanted to do. Perez said he trusted the sinker, and Brocail told him that was the way out.
His message hit home. Perez retired the next hitter, Chase Headley, on a soft grounder. Perez got through the next two innings with a minimum of difficulty.
“I just wanted him to re-set the thought process and execute,” Brocail said. “That’s all it is. It’s psychology.”
Perez is the unofficial team leader in visits from Brocail. Perez is 25 years old and has made 53 major-league starts but often needs help finding his way through the trouble spots that every starter faces in game.
“I’ve got a good relationship with him,” Perez said of Brocail. “He’s a good guy. I trust him 100 percent. He’s happy every day and has good adrenaline when the game starts.
“A good dude.”
A good win for a pitcher who needed it.
Twitter: @gfraley