ARLINGTON, Texas — Wins, at this point, seem like a foreign concept for the Texas Rangers. Coming into the final leg of a road trip against the Minnesota Twins, Texas had won just two games in their previous 12 contests.
Things didn’t get much better from there, as the reigning World Series champions dropped the first two in the set against the Twins to find themselves in danger of slipping further down the AL West standings. But at last, something of a breakthrough occurred on Sunday, and the Rangers ended up pulling out a win, salvaging one game of this six-game road trip.
Game 52: Texas 2, Minnesota 3 (W: Ober, 5-2, L: Urena, 1-4, Sv: Duran, 5)
Game 53: Texas 3, Minnesota 5 (W: Sands, 2-0, L: Robertson, 2-2, Sv: Duran, 6)
Game 54: Texas 6, Minnesota 2 (W: Latz, 1-1, L: Lopez, 4-5)
If it’s not one thing…
One of the things that Texas could hang their hats on is how good the winning pieces of the bullpen had been late in games. The opportunity came for that to continue to be true for the Rangers on Saturday, as David Robertson came in to help preserve a 3-1 Texas lead. After a blown foul tip call helped Minnesota score a run, Robertson started the next inning clean but the frame would quickly become untidy.
After a single and a walk, Robertson coughed up an Alex Kirilloff three-run homer to give the Twins an eighth inning lead that they would not relinquish. It was a rare bad outing for the former Yankees’ closer who had been a lockdown setup man for Texas so far this season.
At the same time, it’s important to acknowledge that Robertson hadn’t pitched in seven days because the Rangers simply haven’t been in position to need their winning pieces late in games. Without a lead to protect, there’s not much point in using a lead protector.
The Corey Seager Show
It’s hard to celebrate a single player’s accomplishments when the rest of the team isn’t getting the job done, but Corey Seager has been attempting to lead the charge for the offense all on his own. After the Minnesota series, Seager is now enjoying a 10-game hitting streak, an 11-game on-base streak and a six-game run-scoring streak.
The World Series MVP went yard in two of the three games against the Twins, including twice in the finale, both crushed to right field.
While it did take him a while to get going this year, if last year is any indication, once Seager gets hot, he can be a dominant force as he finished second in the American League MVP voting. If that holds true this year, then Seager will just have to wait for the rest of the lineup to fall in line around him.
From out of nowhere
As Jon Gray became the latest Rangers’ starter to hit the injured list, Texas needed an option to start the final game against Minnesota. Cole Winn had been optioned back down to Triple-A, and Jack Leiter had proven that he’s not ready for the big leagues. Outside of that, with Jose Urena and Michael Lorenzen each leaving their starts in this series with ailments, a bullpen game was out of the question.
So, with no other choice, Texas designated Shaun Anderson for assignment and selected the contract of 28-year old Dominican Gerson Garabito from Round Rock to make the start.
After being out of affiliate ball for the last five years, Garabito had pitched in various latin Winter Leagues and had signed with the Rangers on a straight up minor-league contract in December. Thanks to some word-of-mouth scouting, and posting a 2.05 ERA over seven outings between Double-A Frisco and Round Rock, Garabito found himself a Major Leaguer on Sunday in one of the more improbable outings in a while born out of desperation.
He responded to the surprising task by no-hitting the Twins through his first three innings of action, and giving up just two hits and one run in 3.2 innings of work. For what Texas needed at that point, it was enough. Jonathan Hernandez, Jake Latz and Jose Leclerc held the Twins in check, limiting them to just two runs overall as the bats scored the most runs in a game (six) since scoring 12 back on May 8 to help Texas pick up their lone win on the road trip.
With every starter except Andrew Heaney having hit the IL at some point this season, and with every starter in the current rotation dealing with bumps and bruises, Garabito’s tenure as a big leaguer might be extended. After being something of an unheard of savior on Sunday, that could be a welcome sight for now.
Fresh off the losing streak-snapping win on Sunday, the Rangers head back home with an off day on Monday. Until Sunday, Texas hadn’t scored more than four runs in a game in two and half weeks. Scoring six runs against Minnesota was a relief; but holding onto that momentum will be a tough task as they face a World Series rematch against the Arizona Diamondbacks starting Tuesday evening.
Do you think the Rangers can put this disastrous road trip behind them? Share your thoughts with Matt on Twitter @FisherWritesMLB.
