ARLINGTON, Texas — The Texas Rangers are doing a lot of great things so far in 2023, but they still have been letting a game here or there slip from their grasp. It has been written already about a couple of series, but Texas, for all intents and purposes, should have swept this series against the division rival Los Angeles Angels.
As it was, they took two of three from their closest competition in the AL West and now sit two games up on the Angels after the one that got away and a couple of blowout victories. Despite the lament about the loss in the opener, it’s hard to see anything but success from winning a series on the road against your nearest competition.
Here’s how the Rangers accomplished their series win:
No breaks for the bats
Theoretically, a 4-1 lead going into the 9th inning should hold up and mean a win for your ballclub. Theoretically, your closer should be able to retire the last part of the middle of the order going into the bottom of the order with relatively little drama. Theoretically, a 4-1 lead with one out remaining should enable you to relax with the knowledge that the victory is at hand. The problem with theory is that it ignores the concept of focus.
The Angels were focused and determined to knock off their division rivals and manufactured a victory over the Rangers on Friday night. With not-named-but-understood closer Will Smith on the hill, the Angels plated three runs to tie the game after they had been held in check all evening. It was really the first time one of the winning pieces in Bruce Bochy’s bullpen had looked vulnerable. It took Will Smith 25 pitches to labor through the dubious 9th inning.
The loss in 10 innings came on the same evening that Dane Dunning, filling in for the injured Jacob deGrom in the rotation, held the Angels scoreless over 5 innings. Brock Burke would go two scoreless as well, setting the scene for Jonathan Hernandez and Will Smith to finish it out. Neither of the last two pitchers were as sharp as they needed to be.
The offense, for their part, scored three in the first four innings and added one more in the 8th. That was a below average output for them this season but it looked like more than enough for a win.
With the struggles that the back end of the bullpen has been having, it’s apparent that the bats need to keep the foot on the gas to give the pitchers a little more wiggle room. They were able to do that on Saturday, scoring seven in the top of the 9th inning while scoring 11 times in the first four innings in the finale Sunday, before adding another five runs in the 7th.
Texas has now scored double digit runs in 26% of their games thus far, exceeding the 19% that the Tampa Bay Rays have produced. The Rangers’ 221 runs over 33 games is the most by any MLB team in that timespan since the 2000 St. Louis Cardinals. With an average of 6.7 runs per game, the Rangers lead baseball.
By run differential, the offensive outpouring by the Rangers should be enough to have secured four additional wins for their record thus far. A few mishaps from the bullpen has wiped away those wins but the offense has remained focused and potent through the season’s first five weeks.
Nate the Great
Nathan Eovaldi did it again. On National Donut Day, the Rangers’ de facto ace handed eight of them out to the Angels on Saturday. Following a complete game shutout of the New York Yankees in his previous outing, Eovaldi’s scoreless streak of 20 innings is the longest in baseball since Arizona Diamondbacks ace Zac Gallen had 28 – a streak that the Rangers broke last Tuesday night.
Eovaldi got through his eight innings in 107 pitches, and if not for the Rangers putting up a 7-spot in the top of the 9th, he probably would have gone back out there to finish the game. His performance gave the bullpen another day of rest and the ability to shake off the two back-to-back blown saves.
Top to bottom
The only person who didn’t get a hit for Texas in Sunday’s finale was Robbie Grossman, who went 0-for-5, snapping his 14-game hitting streak. It was a total team effort as they took it to the Angels for 16 runs.
Grossman still managed to get an RBI on a sacrifice fly to include himself in the proceedings. That RBI tied the game for Texas before they took off and grabbed a hold of the series finale. When the hitter who had the worst day in the lineup still managed to drive in a key run, things are going great for the offense.
Adolis Garcia, Leody Taveras, and Ezekiel Duran were the hitters who picked things up for Grossman’s 0-fer. Garcia went 3-for-4 with a homer, double, two walks, three RBI, two runs and a steal. Duran continued to make the pending return of Corey Seager a quandary for the front office, going 2-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored and one massive home run to kick off the Rangers’ scoring.
Taveras has had something of a breakout series, going 4-for-5 with a double, four RBI, two runs and a steal on Saturday. Overall in the Los Angeles series, Taveras went 7-for-13 with two doubles, a homer and four RBI. He’s been on fire since the calendar turned to May and is now slashing .300/.372/.457 on the year.
A crack in the foundation
Martin Perez just didn’t have it on Sunday. The Venezuelan lefty had been 4-1 with a 2.41 ERA going into the series finale. From the get go, the usually dependable Perez looked off. Ultimately, he lasted just 3 ⅔ innings, giving up seven earned runs on eight hits, while walking three.
Perez battled a very tight strike zone, and for a pitcher like Perez, who likes to live on the edges and corners, a very tight strike zone can be a killer. Not getting certain calls that may very well have been in the zone but weren’t called caused Perez to drift a few more into areas where he could be hit.
What we’ve learned about Perez since he returned to Texas last year, though, is that he’s been able to shake off shaky performances and go again. His next start is against the Athletics, and for now, the Sunday dud can be summed up as a bad day at the office.
Do you think the Rangers can find answers for their bullpen? Share your thoughts with Matt on Twitter @FisherWritesMLB.
