1 week Ago
The Texas Rangers, once again, have failure to launch from an offensive standpoint. With Sunday’s 3-2 loss to the San Francisco Giants (19-1), the Rangers (15-13) lost two out of three games in the Bay Area and did so against a Giants team that only scored six runs in the entire series. The problem was the Rangers only scored six runs and won Friday’s game in a 2-0 shutout.
This brought an end to a 2-4 road trip that started in Sacramento. The Rangers shook up their lineup and it little to help whatever ails this offense. A Texas Rangers pitching-first, offense-second team just doesn’t make much sense.
Here are three takeaways from the series. The Offense is Still, Well ..
. The Rangers had a tough time scoring runs this weekend. Sure, shortstop Corey Seager is out with a hamstring injury.
But Texas committed to making lineup changes this week, including moving Josh Smith to leadoff and sliding Marcus Semien down in the order. Aside from a surge that first night in Sacramento, the road trip has been a relative bust offensively. In three games against San Francisco, the Rangers scored a half-dozen runs.
You don’t need advanced metrics to see it. The Rangers are among the last in baseball in runs per game, walk rate, on-base percentage, batting average and OPS. After a solid month, nothing is working.
Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young wasn’t on the trip, but The Dallas Morning News (subscription required) posed a question about the offense and he texted back this response. “Everyone shares responsibility for our offensive struggles,” Young said. “From the front office, to the coaches and players.
We believe in the personnel we have and we are working hard to find solutions to our early season struggles. We are evaluating all aspects of our offense and how we will improve. It’s a collective effort and I am confident we will find the right answers and turn this around.
” Well, that ought to fix it. If only it were that easy. There really isn’t much of a solution when an entire team is in a slump expect to keep tinkering, adjusting and ride it out.
A trade would cost the Rangers too much this early in the season. Thank Goodness for This Rotation For long-time Rangers watchers, this rotation is shaping up to be one of the best in team history. While the offense has sputtered, at times spectacularly, the starting pitching has, aside from Kumar Rocker, has ranged from solid to terrific nearly every night.
Nathan Eovaldi claimed the win over the Giants on Friday and combined with the bullpen to shut San Francisco out. Saturday’s starter, Tyler Mahle, took a no-decision but the Giants only scored three runs. On Sunday, Jack Leiter returned and he struggled with walks, but he didn’t allow the game to get away from him.
The Rangers remain tied for the AL West lead primarily because this rotation has been able to remain spot on most nights. That’s something many previous Rangers teams have not been able to hang their hats on. They Still Love Bochy Saturday was a big day in the Bay Area.
The Giants honored Brandon Crawford, who played 13 of his 14 years for the Giants and was a part of two World Series championships. He retired last offseason. San Francisco timed his retirement celebration specifically for this weekend so that his former manager, Texas Rangers boss Bruce Bochy , could attend.
Considering Bochy led the Giants to three World Series titles in five years, he is still highly regarded in the Bay Area. Whey he was introduced during Saturday's pregame ceremony, he received one of the loudest ovations of anyone. In fact, the outpouring forced Bochy to stand up and acknowledge the fans, something he would have rather been directed toward Crawford.
He should get used to it. At some point he’ll be heading to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Recommended Articles.
