ARLINGTON, Texas — The Texas Rangers essentially reached the halfway point of their defense of the 2023 World Series championship on a sour note, getting swept in Milwaukee.
Don’t take anything away from the Brewers – they are a first-place team that looks like a legit contender in the National League. Still, coming off a sweep against a competitive Kansas City Royals team, one would think that the Rangers would have put up more of a fight.
Instead, Texas displayed more of what the club has shown for most of the season – they simply were not good enough. The result was a sweep that looms even larger with the Houston Astros now moving into sole possession of 2nd place in the American League West.
Game 78: Texas 3, Milwaukee 6 (W: Peguero, 5-2, L: Latz, 2-2, Sv: Megill, 16)
Game 79: Texas 1, Milwaukee 3 (W: Wilson, 5-3, L: Heaney, 2-9, Sv: Peguero, 2)
Game 80: Texas 5, Milwaukee 6 (W: Koenig, 7-1, L: Latz, 2-3)
Same old song and dance
The unfortunate thing is the Rangers had a chance to win all three of the games in Milwaukee, holding leads in each contest. It took a while for Texas to get going against Freddy Peralta on Monday night, but they eventually took a 3-1 lead into the fifth inning. With the way Michael Lorenzen had been throwing, the three runs looked like it would be enough, especially as Adolis Garcia broke a 17-game homerless streak with a solo shot.
Garcia breaking through with a home run after the Brewers had gotten on the board looked like it would be a nice boost and a breakthrough moment. The Brew Crew had other ideas for the Texas bullpen, however, as they scored four runs on one swing of Rhys Hoskins’ bat for a grand slam against an uncharacteristically ineffective Jacob Latz.
The next day, Texas started the scoring in the first in another promising sequence of events but would remain scoreless the rest of the game, registering just three more hits over the remaining eight innings. In the finale, the Rangers held leads of 1-0 and 5-4 but couldn’t hold either and lost on a walk-off in extra innings.
The best intentions
Lorenzen gave an honorable effort in the opener. He gave up just two runs over five innings of work, striking out five and walking one. At 91 pitches, he was lifted for Latz in a move that manager Bruce Bochy would take back with the benefit of hindsight. After a William Contreras double to start the sixth, Bochy turned to Latz in relief with Texas up 3-1.
Latz had last pitched a scoreless inning in the Kansas City sweep and hadn’t given up a run all month. With Dane Dunning freshly moved to the bullpen and not pitching in nearly 10 days, the short hook on Lorenzen seemed more questionable than going with Latz.
Dunning pitched on Tuesday behind starter Andrew Heaney and allowed a run in 2 ⅓ innings in his first action after being sent to the bullpen to make room for Max Scherzer in the rotation. Latz, though, after allowing a grand slam in the opener, was also on the hill again in the finale, only this time in extra innings with the game on the line.
Perhaps it was an attempt to shake off some of the bad energy from the last outing, perhaps it was forward-thinking managing in saving someone like Jose Leclerc for a lead, but with David Robertson and Kirby Yates already used, Bochy turned to Latz again the 10th. Latz got a couple of outs, but couldn’t put Andruw Monasterio away with the freebie runner in scoring position and the Brewers would walk it off after Texas failed to score in the top of the frame. Sometimes, the strategies backfire.
Just when you think…
A look at just the Rangers’ box score from the getaway game on Wednesday would give you hope. Ten hits and five runs is a decent output for an offense that has struggled mightily with inconsistencies. Seeing three back-to-back singles and two home runs, along with offensive production from the usual benchwarmers might lead one to believe that the game was well in hand, especially with the staff ace on the mound.
Nathan Eovaldi was at his best except for one pitch and that one pitch was a killer. The Brewers’ second grand slam of the series made for an ugly line for Eovaldi; even though it was just one pitch that floated over the middle of the plate, it was worth four runs and effectively negated the Rangers’ offensive output. Eovaldi would end up going seven innings. But one fat pitch from the starter and one fat pitch from the last reliever of the game was the difference.
Spinning in place
Nathaniel Lowe homered with a man on in the fourth. In doing so, he broke a 35-game homerless streak. He’s held his head above water, especially against right-handed pitching, and is now hitting .257 for June, but the power hasn’t been there for Lowe, who won the Silver Slugger at first base just two years prior.
Even though Lowe got a late start to the season, the Gold Glover just hasn’t found the power stroke. With a convincing, opposite-field homer in this game, perhaps the first baseman is ready to start bringing the slugging percentage to a bit more of a robust number than the paltry .365 that it sits at.
By that token, though, another key offensive producer has fallen on hard times. Marcus Semien, after an 0-for-5 finale, is now in a rut where he is 4-for-41 over his last 10 games. When the leadoff hitter is hitting below .100 amidst an already struggling offense, it can be hard to envision a positive upswing.
This team’s assembly of talent would appear to be too good to be in a continued slump like this. Greater turnarounds have happened throughout Major League Baseball’s 162-game season, but to watch the defending champs struggle like this dampens the luster and hope of a sustainable competitive window. Sweeping a series and then getting swept is a great hallmark of a .500 team. At this rate, that’s where the third-place Rangers are headed.
Do you think the Rangers will be able to climb back over .500 in 2024? Share your thoughts with Matt on Twitter @FisherWritesMLB.