ARLINGTON, Texas — It’s hard to imagine a worse regular season series played in Arlington for the Texas Rangers than the one that just concluded.
There have been worse teams in Texas, for sure, but there may not have been a worse moment to have such a resounding dud of a series from a team with postseason aspirations with each game ending in demoralizing blowout fashion.
After leading the American League West for virtually the entire year, the Rangers have been on a slide since late August that cost them their division lead. However, after an emotional walk-off win in the series finale against the Minnesota Twins over the weekend, there was hope that they could make a statement that they were still in the hunt for the AL West crown with their in-state rivals in town for the biggest late-season Lone Star Series to date.
The result: Uneven, uncompetitive losses by a combined score of 39-10 with Houston being more concerned with breaking home run records than worrying about their neighbors to the north.
The aftermath now leaves Texas out of even a Wild Card spot with only three weeks of the season to turn things around.
- Game 137: Houston 13, Texas 6 (W: Montero, 3-3, L: Sborz, 5-7)
- Game 138: Houston 14, Texas 1 (W: Valdez, 11-9, L: Eovaldi, 11-4)
- Game 139: Houston 12, Texas 3 (W: Verlander, 11-7, L: Scherzer, 12-6)
Three Up
Eovaldi returns – There’s a section that covers Nathan Eovaldi’s actual performance from Tuesday if you dare to scroll down, but the fact that the Rangers are getting another seasoned pitcher back does still help lengthen a waning pitching staff, and length is something that the pitching staff desperately needs.
After sending Martin Perez to the bullpen following the trade deadline acquisitions of Max Scherzer and Jordan Montgomery, the Rangers now have another move to make with Eovaldi coming off the injured list. As has been evidenced heavily in the last several weeks – and truthfully, all season – the bullpen needs all the help it can get.
With the All-Star righty returning, the Rangers rotation now features Scherzer, Montgomery, Eovaldi, Jon Gray and either Dane Dunning or Andrew Heaney. The usage of Dunning behind Eovaldi doesn’t necessarily mean anything, as Eovaldi was always going to be on a pitch limit and Tuesday was Dunning’s spot in the rotation.
Both Heaney and Dunning have pitched in relief, but Dunning has done it far more effectively and recently. The bottom line is, there are extra arms now for the stretch run.
Hedges makes (dubious) history – The circumstances weren’t great, but Austin Hedges, the Rangers’ fourth catcher on the depth chart, made back to back appearances in the blowout games to open the series. He gave up two hits in the second game, but that was it. He was the only person to take the mound for the Texas Rangers to record scoreless appearances until the sixth inning of the finale.
Hedges, who was on record as telling his previous Pittsburgh Pirates teammates that the Texas dugout looked like a place he wanted to be, is the first position player in Texas Rangers’ history to pitch in consecutive games.
Seager out in front – In the grand scheme of the 2023 season, Corey Seager’s batting average doesn’t mean much while the Rangers see their season circling the drain. But Seager, who has been a literal hitting machine all season, finds himself alone at the top of the American League in the batting title race.
During the series, he finally became a qualifier, surpassing the necessary 3.1 plate appearances per team game to be counted among the leaders. He also sits second in all of Major League Baseball with his average behind Miami’s Luis Arraez.
This has undoubtedly been an incredible year of perseverance for Seager, with two injured list stints, but the Rangers will need to go on some kind of tear in the last 20-plus games of the season for that to not be lost in the collapse of the team.
Three Down
No Pitcher Safe – It didn’t matter if you were a seasoned pitcher recalled from a minor league contract, a returning starting pitcher from the IL, or a steadfast starter called in to carry the bulk of the game. The Astros were hitting everything. Bloops, blasts, liners and loopers, the Houston had nearly every sort of hit imaginable. Their favorite by far, however, was the big fly with an unimaginable 16 home runs over the course of the three-game series.
Of all the incredible displays of long-distance power, none was more impressive than Jose Altuve. The second baseman, who missed a significant amount of time at various points in the season with injury, homered in four straight plate appearances – one in the opener and the first three of the middle game.
With the number of runs that the Rangers’ pitchers gave up in the first two games, backup catcher Hedges was pressed into service. He was the only one who didn’t allow a run. All in all, the Astros ended up tying an MLB record by hitting at least five home runs in three consecutive games.
Garcia grounded – In the top of the second of the finale, with Texas already down 2-1, Michael Brantley sent a soaring sky ball to right field where Rangers right fielder Adolis Garcia went back, appeared to track it well and leapt at the wall, but to no avail. The ball sailed just past Garcia’s outstretched glove and when the right fielder came down, he tweaked something in his knee.
Garcia was removed from the game and replaced with Robbie Grossman. During the game, it was announced that the right fielder had left the game with right knee discomfort. Even though Garcia was only hitting .209 since the All-Star Break, the defensive and offensive threat of the Cuban are huge factors to be without down the stretch.
Eovaldi returns – Most pitchers will tell you that there are no amount of bullpens and “up-downs” that can be exercised that will replicate the experience of facing live hitters in actual game situations. Of course, most pitchers will also tell you that when push comes to shove and the team needs you, sometimes you have to do things a little unconventionally.
Eovaldi had six different bullpen sessions and several sessions of live batter batting practice as he prepared for his return. With the Rangers in dire straits, the decision was made to activate Eovaldi without a rehab assignment. Baseball is unpredictable, and perhaps the result would have been the same even with a start in the minors, but Eovaldi only lasted 1 ⅓ innings, giving up five hits, two homers and four runs on 35 pitches before Dunning replaced him.
By the time the season ends, Eovaldi may be built up to go longer than three innings – but by that point, it may not matter. The other option would be to use Eovaldi in a role that he had with the Red Sox in the playoffs – out of the bullpen. Regardless, the return of Eovaldi didn’t go as planned for Texas.
As a result of the no good, very bad series, the Rangers now find themselves not just completely removed from the first place position they held for four and a half months, but also completely out of a Wild Card slot. The Toronto Blue Jays are now ahead of Texas for the final playoff spot in the American League.
Big series remain as Rangers will play Toronto immediately following the upcoming weekend set against the Oakland Athletics.
Do you think the Rangers have a chance to rebound from this disaster against Houston? Share your thoughts with Matt on Twitter @FisherWritesMLB.
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