ARLINGTON, Texas — To say the Texas Rangers looked ready for a day off by the end of this stretch of 17 games that began with the season just seven days old might be an understatement. There were highs and lows over these two and a half weeks, and it ended on a low note with a series loss to the NL East-leading Atlanta Braves.
However, despite losing the series, Texas claiming the finale to avoid being swept allowed them to finish the road trip portion of this grueling stretch at an even 5-5, still above .500, and still atop the American League West.
For all the problems that surfaced over this stretch of games, the positives to take away from it are that Nathaniel Lowe is back, Max Scherzer is closer to returning than was originally thought, and the Rangers get their well-earned day of rest ahead of a homestand that begins on Tuesday.
Game 21: Rangers 3, Atlanta 8 (W: Sale, 2-1, L: Latz, 0-1)
Game 22: Rangers 2, Atlanta 5 (W: Morton, 2-0, L: Eovaldi, 1-2, Sv: Iglesias, 6)
Game 23: Rangers 6, Atlanta 4 (W: Lorenzen, 2-0, L: Vines, 0-1, Sv: Yates, 3)
All you can ask for
With Andrew Heaney not able to make it through even four innings in his previous two starts, the hope was that he could give the team even five innings in the opener to not put the bullpen in a bind to begin the series. With Jack Leiter not giving the club as many innings as they had hoped for in his debut in the previous game in Detroit, the hope turned into a need.
Some length in this outing was a tall ask of the lefty, going against one of the best offenses in baseball in their home park. Heaney, though, was able to weather the storm. The lefty allowed just three runs on three hits in the requisite five complete innings of work – two of the runs were solo home runs off the bat of the apparently superpower-endowed Travis d’Arnaud.
Heaney, whose days in the rotation might be numbered as the countdown begins for Scherzer’s return, gave his team a chance, and indeed, Texas would come back and tie it in the next half inning following Heaney’s departure, although the bullpen would eventually lose the game when d’Arnaud hit his third home run of the night, a back-breaking grand slam.
Bullpen roulette
As this season has worn on in the early stages, the Rangers’ winning bullpen pieces – David Robertson, Kirby Yates, and Jose Leclerc – have been serviceable. Offseason additions Robertson and Yates in particular have been as advertised, much to the literal relief of a beleaguered Rangers’ ‘pen.
Jacob Latz had also been an asset in the ‘pen, but on Friday night, the lefty had his first really bad outing. Latz didn’t even make it out of the sixth inning following Heaney in Friday night’s opener. He was hurt by walks and the aforementioned d’Arnaud grand slam.
One night later, it was Austin Pruitt, who has not had a scoreless appearance to date, who threw one pitch to Orlando Arcia that ended up on the center field grass for a hit, and one pitch to, yes, again, d’Arnaud, that ended up in the Truist Park bleachers for his fourth home run of the series to put the Braves up for good.
As names like Jon Gray and Heaney are talked about for potential bullpen roles, as the likes of Cody Bradford and Scherzer work their way back to the rotation, the list of names to be removed from the roster’s bullpen will start circulating as Texas aims to solidify an area that has caused much heartburn over the last few seasons.
All Kniz’ed up
Just before the second game of the series on Saturday, the Rangers were dealt another blow to their “regular” lineup, as All-Star backstop Jonah Heim went on the Bereavement List. Taking his place behind the plate was backup catcher Andrew Knizner.
Knizner, a better hitter than catcher, did his best Heim impersonation over the two games he started. On Saturday, although he went hitless, Knizner drove in one of the Rangers’ two runs with an RBI groundout.
In the finale, with the baseball world watching on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball, Knizner might as well have been channeling the spirit of Heim, as he went 2-for-4 with a game-changing three-run homer that proved to be the difference maker in Texas avoiding the sweep.
Lowe places
The Jared Walsh era in Texas appears to be over for the time being. Walsh, who made the Opening Day roster when Nathaniel Lowe suffered a late-spring oblique injury, had been struggling mightily since April 7th, gathering just two hits since an eye-opening debut week.
On Saturday, coinciding with the move to put Heim on the Bereavement List, the Rangers got their regular first baseman back. The Silver Slugger and Gold Glover jumped right into things, drawing a walk in his first at-bat and coming around to score.
In the finale, Lowe racked up two hits and scored a run. Having the lefty back is another step closer to the Rangers being a full strength and will certainly help to lengthen the top two-thirds of the lineup.
Carter climbing
Scuffling Rookie of the Year candidate Evan Carter showed signs of breaking out of his slump in the Sunday finale. Coming into the game, Carter was hitting below the Mendoza line, and while two hits isn’t going to bring his numbers up drastically, he did hit a moonshot home run to put the Rangers on the board and then beat out an infield hit for his first career hit against a left-handed pitcher.
Sometimes, all it takes is a little squibber to help break a batter out of a slump. Carter also made two very nice diving catches in left field at key points in the game. The return of Lowe could end up dropping Carter down the lineup, where there will be less pressure on the youngster to be a tablesetter.
All-in-all, the Rangers finished the stretch of 17 games in a row with an 8-9 record. Yes, a losing record, but with the rest of the AL West playing so poorly out of the gate, Texas heads into the off day retaining a one game lead in the division. Coming to town on Tuesday, however, is the team right behind them in the standings – the Seattle Mariners.
Do you think the Rangers are still in good shape following their lengthy road trip? Share your thoughts with Matt on Twitter @FisherWritesMLB.
