It appears that Kumar Rocker needs the training wheels. He does better when someone else pitches the first inning for him.

Starting in the second inning, he pitched five, gave up two runs, struck out nine, and didn’t walk a single Marlins hitter in the Texas 4-3 win over Miami, aided by an Ezequiel Duran three-run homer.

The other time Rocker had to have the safety net of an opener was in Denver, when he followed up the first-inning guy with seven-and-two-thirds of scoreless baseball.

Rocker’s ERA in the first inning is 9.69. His ERA in all other innings is 2.89.

He can’t pitch in the first inning. Evan Carter can’t hit lefties. Corey Seager can’t stay on the field. The Rangers have a team of partial players. But if that’s the only way they can get a winning performance out of Rocker, go for it.

Keep the training wheels on and watch the little guy go.

*****