ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Those bullpen games have been quite a relief for the Texas Rangers.
With Nathan Eovaldi still on the injured list with right elbow inflammation and Tyler Mahle now dealing with shoulder stiffness, the Rangers twice in the past week have gone with bullpen games — using only relievers for the first two times this season, and winning both.
The first pitcher in each of those victories hasn't allowed a hit through the first three innings, with Shawn Armstrong perfect in his three innings to open the 3-1 win over the White Sox on Friday night. Jacob Webb (4-3) has been the second pitcher both times, and he got wins with scoreless outings since the starter didn't go the required five innings to get credited with a victory. Robert Garcia finished off both for saves, and he was the seventh pitcher used against Chicago.
“Our bullpen ... it's just next man-up kind of mentality down there. And it’s going well,” Webb said Saturday before two-time Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom's start on an extra day of rest. “It's just perseverance and knowing what we have to do down there. ... We’re playing some good baseball right now and that’s what matters.”
While deGrom's regular turn in the rotation would have been Friday, the Rangers moved him back to avoid the possibility of back-to-back bullpen games this weekend. Mahle's normal slot would be Sunday, but with the team off Monday that would give the right-hander two extra days, if he doesn't end up on the injured list before then.
Kumar Rocker (1-4, 8.87 ERA in six starts), who was optioned to Triple-A Round Rock on June 5 and can't return yet to the major league roster unless it is to replace an injured player, was in the Rangers clubhouse on Saturday. When asked about Rocker's presence before the game, manager Bruce Bochy responded, “We may need a start.”
Bochy didn't have an answer on Sunday's starter when talking to reporters after the Rangers' 5-4 win in 11 innings, their sixth win in seven games. They used five relievers after deGrom pitched six innings.
Instead of another bullpen game as had been anticipated, the Rangers later announced that Rocker would start Sunday's series finale. They didn't say what roster move would be made before that game.
Jacob Latz started the first bullpen game at Washington last Sunday, when he didn't give up a hit until the fourth while striking out seven with 60 pitches over 3 1/3 innings. Webb then threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings, followed by Hoby Milner, Armstrong and Garcia in a 4-2 win.
Armstrong retired all nine batters he faced Friday with five strikeouts, including his last four White Sox batters. Webb then took over for two scoreless innings, before Luke Jackson, Milner, Chris Martin, Cole Winn and Garcia.
“Everybody’s willing to do whatever it takes for this team to win, so it’s a pretty special group to be part of. ... Nobody’s saying no to any role. When their name is called, they’re getting the ball and they’re getting the job done,” catcher Jonah Heim said. "The starters pick up the bullpen sometimes and the bullpen picks up starters. So that’s kind of the environment we want to be in, is everybody’s picking up everybody and trying to win games.”
Bullpen games aren’t something Bochy has done often. The Rangers were 1-6 when starting a reliever in each of the past two seasons, and now are 2-0 this year.
Bochy said his relievers have done a good job all season, even with guys being moved to different roles.
“They don't care how it gets done," Bochy said. “Just that it gets done and they're doing what they can to help win a ball game.”
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Texas Rangers starting pitcher Shawn Armstrong throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Friday, June 13, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Texas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy looks on from the dugout before a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Sunday, June 8, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Texas Rangers pitcher Robert Garcia (62) celebrates after the final out with catcher Jonah Heim (28) in the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Friday, June 13, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
ADEN, Yemen (AP) — Southern separatists in Yemen said Saudi warplanes carried out new airstrikes Saturday on a military camp in the port city of Mukalla and other areas where their forces are stationed, as Saudi-backed forces moved to retake the city.
There was no immediate Saudi comment. It was the latest direct intervention by Saudi Arabia, which in recent weeks has bombed the separatist Southern Transitional Council, or STC, and struck what is said was a shipment of Emirati weapons destined for it.
The Saudi strikes hit Barshid Brigade camp west of Mukalla in Hadramout, one of two governorates seized last month by the STC, according to the group’s AIC satellite news channel.
Yemen has been engulfed in civil war for more than a decade, with Iran-backed Houthi rebels controlling much of the north and a Saudi-led coalition supporting the internationally recognized government in the south. But coalition member the United Arab Emirates also supports the separatists, who call for South Yemen to secede again from Yemen.
The latest Saudi strikes came a day after the separatist movement announced a constitution for an independent nation in the south.
Last month, the STC moved into Hadramout and Mahra and seized an oil-rich region. That pushed out allies of the Saudi-supported National Shield forces, a group in the anti-Houthi coalition.
After Saudi pressure and an ultimatum from anti-Houthi forces to withdraw from Yemen, the UAE said early Saturday it had pulled out all its forces.
The tensions in Yemen have further strained ties between Saudi Arabia and the UAE, neighbors on the Arabian Peninsula that have competed over economic issues and regional politics, particularly in the Red Sea area. Ostensibly, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have shared the coalition's professed goal of restoring Yemen's internationally recognized government.
An official with the STC told The Associated Press on Saturday that more than 100 Saudi airstrikes struck multiple locations across Hadramout over the past 24 hours, resulting in deaths and injuries. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to brief the media.
Mukalla residents Ahmed al-Faradi and Salem Maadan told the AP the city was now controlled by the Hadramout Tribes Confederacy and the National Shield forces.
Col. Ahmed Baqatyan, a military commander in the Hadramout Tribes Confederacy, said that striking the Barshid Brigade camp was necessary because it sits on the route to the southern port city of Aden. He said clearing the camp of STC forces was aimed at preventing them from regrouping and launching a return to Mukalla.
Meanwhile, Yemen’s Transportation Ministry, aligned with the STC, condemned Saudi airstrikes late Friday it said targeted the international airport in Seiyun, “exposing the airport to serious risks that could damage its infrastructure, hindering its operation and the resumption of flights.”
Earlier on Saturday, Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry said it plans to hold a conference in its capital, Riyadh, to bring together all southern factions in Yemen "to discuss just solutions to the southern cause."
Saudi Arabia was responding to a request for dialogue from Rashad al-Alimi, head of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, the ruling organ of the internationally recognized government.
There were no immediate details about the proposed conference.
The anti-Houthi coalition was showing other signs of strain. Clashes erupted on Friday between National Shield forces and the southern forces in Hadramout and their allies, killing at least eight people, paramedic Ahmed al-Ketheri told the AP.
Hilal Khashan, political science professor at the American University of Beirut, said that when Saudi Arabia and the UAE began a military operation against the Houthis a decade ago, the Saudis were interested in controlling the mountains of Saada, while the UAE wanted to capture Aden because of its importance as a gateway to the Red Sea.
Khashan said the situation got out of control in recent weeks when the UAE-backed STC started capturing areas in Hadramout that border the kingdom.
“For the Saudis that was a red line,” Khashan said, adding that the Saudis felt that they were being “held captive between the Houthis in the north and the UAE in the south.” They ”decided to stop the UAE from its regional expansionism," he said.
Khaled reported from Cairo. Associated Press writer Bassem Mroue in Beirut contributed to this report.
Supporters of the Southern Transitional Council (STC), a coalition of separatist groups seeking to restore the state of South Yemen, hold South Yemen flags during a rally, in Aden, Yemen, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026. (AP Photo)
