ARLINGTON, Texas — It’s always darkest before dawn, or so the saying goes. While the recent slump that the Texas Rangers endured wouldn’t necessarily be considered the darkest times that this organization has seen in recent times, it certainly represented the dimmest days in 2023 thus far and the first big challenge for Bruce Bochy’s club to overcome.
In an ugly stretch marked by a lack of run production, timely hitting, and with the starting pitching running into sustained issues for the first time, the Rangers used a lopsided victory in Sunday’s finale against the Toronto Blue Jays to put an end to a poor run of 10 games where they had gone 3-7.
- Game 69: Toronto 2, Texas 1 (W: Gausman 6-3, L: Perez, 6-3, Sv: Romano, 20)
- Game 70: Toronto 2, Texas 4 (W: Dunning, 6-1, L: Richards, 0-1, Sv: Smith, 12)
- Game 71: Toronto 6, Texas 11 (W: King, 1-0, L: Pearson, 4-1)
The back-to-back wins allowed Texas to avoid a third consecutive series loss for the first time this season and the 11-run outburst provided some encouraging signs, at least offensively.
Stranded struggles
Issues producing with runners in scoring position has been a common theme over this rough stretch for Texas. Before Sunday’s finale with the Jays, Texas had been leaving baserunners on by the boatload. For the team that leads baseball in all hitting categories in that situation, and by a very, very wide margin, that kind of a scoring dearth stands out rather starkly.
Over their last ten games before Sunday, dating back to the 1-0 loss to St. Louis, the Rangers were 13-for-78. That’s a .167 average with runners in scoring position. Perhaps it can be called overdue regression as Texas had been hitting well over .330 in those situations.
Even in the win on Saturday, the Rangers had an 0-for-5 night with runners in scoring position, scoring their four runs on homers. In the opener on Friday, the inability to plate runs made all the difference between a win and a loss, as Texas went 0-for-9 in a 2-1 loss.
That loss came on a night where Martin Perez rebounded and pitched well at home, as he has all season, surrendering just two runs on one two-run homer. Texas managed their run on a Leody Taveras homer. When the offense can’t muster more than that, two runs allowed unfortunately leads to a hard-luck loss, as was the case with Perez.
Signs of life
The Rangers sidestepped their RISP issues on Saturday by opting for home runs. However, they needed all the runs that they could get in Sunday’s finale. Eventually, Texas looked a lot more like their 2023 selves. Perhaps more encouraging than the 11 runs that they put up against some good Toronto pitching was the fact that they were able to dig themselves out of an 6-0 deficit.
With Jon Gray having perhaps his poorest outing of the year after coming back from a blister problem, the Rangers were tasked with digging themselves out of that 6-0 hole after three innings. Gray was pulled after just 56 pitches, having given up six earned runs in just 2 ⅓ innings. Given the way that the Rangers’ offense had been scuffling lately, six runs seemed like an awful lot to ask of the lineup but they had a lot of time to figure it out.
Little by little, Texas chipped away. With two runs in the 3rd, and three more in the 4th, the Rangers drove Toronto starter Chris Bassitt from the game. The comeback was completed in the 5th when a Taveras single scored two during a rally that followed a solo home run by catcher Jonah Heim that had tied the game earlier in the frame.
Bottom of the order hitters Ezequiel Duran and Taveras, however, weren’t content with a fresh 8-6 lead that Toronto quickly made 8-7 in the 6th. Taveras would drive in the Rangers’ 7th run and Duran would score the 8th. In the bottom of the 7th, Duran and Taveras found themselves crossing the plate again, as Duran singled and then came home as Taveras launched his third home run in five games to grant the Rangers their latest double-digit scoring contest. Corey Seager would tack on another run later to bring the final tally to 11 runs.
All in all on Sunday, Texas went 5-for-12 with runners in scoring position to put the drought behind them for at least one afternoon.
A kingly performance
Do not discount what the bullpen has done lately either. In the 12 ⅔ innings that the bullpen had to shoulder during this series, they allowed just one run; that run was by John King in the finale, the only blemish on an otherwise massive effort by the lefty. The bullpen also only allowed six hits in the series.
Having to come in for Gray in the third inning, and with his team down by six, King quieted down the Blue Jays’ offense into the sixth inning while allowing a couple of walks and nothing more.
The one earned run on his ledger was an inherited runner that Grant Anderson allowed to score. Otherwise, King’s performance kept the Rangers in it long enough to complete the comeback and, very deservedly, King came away with a win.
The bullpen has been really good lately, which has helped the Rangers massively while the offense figures things out. It’s not a lockdown bullpen, by any stretch, but given the struggles that they experienced early on in the season, if the bullpen has fully stabilized and become an asset, they could be a difference maker through the summer.
Seager shows off
The $325 million shortstop was every bit worth his price tag this weekend against Toronto. Seager went 7-for-13 in the Blue Jays series, but in reality, he just hasn’t slowed down since coming back from injury.
Since his return in May from a hamstring injury suffered in April, Seager has hit .364 with 9 homers and 36 RBI. In the month of June alone, Seager is slashing .424/.479/.788. While the rest of the offense may have scuffled of late, Seager remains the hitter that just won’t go away, and has become the one that will produce consistently, even when nobody else can.
With a series win under their belts, their first in a week and a half, Texas will conclude this stretch of 13 games in 13 days on the Southside of Chicago for a three-game series against Elvis Andrus and the White Sox.
Do you think the Rangers have put their RISP woes behind them? Share your thoughts with Matt on Twitter @FisherWritesMLB.
