Ex-Red Sox Martín Pérez Finished May With Best ERA In AL For Rangers

Martín Pérez enjoyed a successful month of May.

In his second stint with the Texas Rangers, Pérez has been a bright spot for the team as it has begun to turn things around after an abysmal start to the 2022 Major League Baseball season.

The lefty’s latest showing came Tuesday night in a seven-inning performance that included five strikeouts. Pérez did not give up a hit, an earned run or a walk in the 3-0 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. Pérez retired all 16 batters he faced after taking a 97 mph line drive off his shin.

“As soon as they asked me to throw the ball, I knew I was good,” Pérez told reporters after the game, per MLB.com’s Kennedi Landry. “I don’t feel anything. I (told them), ‘I’m good. This is not a reason to go out of the game.’ It’s happened to me in my career and I always stay in the game. I just stayed there to do my job and get the win.”

The win moved Pérez to 4-2 on the season with a 1.42 ERA — best in MLB — in 10 starts. What might be more impressive, though, is that his ERA for the month of May was 0.64 — good for best in the American League. A dominant six-inning outing against his former Boston Red Sox team May 15 helped contribute to that.

This also marked the third start in May that Pérez went at least seven innings without giving up a run.

Pérez struggled to find his kind of success during his two seasons with the Boston Red Sox, posting a 4.79 ERA in 2020 and a 5.61 ERA in 2021.