By Martin Iheke
The beginning of the week for your Texas Rangers started off badly. It was a continuation from the week before where they had a miserable road trip from within their division. Last Tuesday night, the Detroit Tigers came into town to start a three-game series and took the first game, 8-2. Former Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler made his return visit to Texas with three RBIs including a home run in the first inning. Rangers starting pitcher Colby Lewis continued to struggle despite getting into the seventh inning. He gave up four runs off nine hits in the loss. “I don’t know. …It was one of those nights,” Lewis said according to MLB.com. “I’m not going to take too much from it. I threw the pitches I needed to throw. You’ve got to keep it close, but they came out on top,” as he continued. The loss extended the losing streak for the Rangers to six games.
Things did not get any better for the Rangers the next night as their losing streak grew to seven games dropping another game to the Tigers, 8-6. Rangers starting pitcher Joe Saunders again remains winless on the season. He gave up three runs in the first inning and another two in the fourth inning before his night ended with the Tigers up, 5-0. The Rangers later tried to rally but fell short in the end. “I pride myself on trying to get out there to a good start,” Saunders said according to MLB.com. “But tonight was just one of those things where you try to minimize the damage the best you can, show up as many innings as you can, and keep the game as close as you can, really. That’s what you’ve got to focus on,” as he continued. However, there would be no rally at all for the Rangers in the final game of the series as the Tigers blanked them, 6-0, sweeping the series. The Rangers losing streak extended to eight games which is the longest since 2005.
At this point, you are wondering if the Rangers will ever win again this season with the way things have gone, but it is a 162-game campaign and even the very worst teams in the history of the MLB win games on a good night. The Rangers certainly are not one of the worst teams in the history of the sport. Unfortunately, they have been marred by a ridiculous amount of injuries to key players and sometimes there is not much you can do about that. Luckily, the Minnesota Twins came into town last Friday night who are in the same boat giving the Rangers a chance to end their losing streak. The Rangers built a 5-0 lead going into the top of the ninth and held on to win, 5-4, finally ending the streak. Rangers starting pitcher Nick Tepesch was brilliant pitching 7 1/3 shutout innings. “He was outstanding,” Rangers manager Ron Washington said according to MLB.com. “We needed a well-pitched game and he gave it to us. He was able to spot his fastball. He was able to throw his breaking ball. He was able to keep the ball down. He did exactly what we needed him to do and he deserves a lot of credit for tonight,” as he continued. The Rangers extended their winning streak to two games after their ace Yu Darvish pitched eight shutout innings to a 5-0 win. If there is one bright spot this season for the Rangers, it is the fact that they lead the league in shutting out their opponent 14 times. They were looking for a sweep this past Sunday afternoon but fell short losing, 3-2.
The Rangers concluded their six-game homestand with a record of 2-4 and are currently in fourth place in the American League West Division at 37-44. They will look to bounce back when they travel to Baltimore to take on the Orioles for a four-game series starting on Monday night. After that, they will travel to New York to take on the Mets in a three-game series on Friday.
Upcoming Schedule
6/30 @Orioles 6:05 p.m.
7/1 @Orioles 6:05 p.m.
7/2 @Orioles 6:05 p.m.
7/3 @Orioles 6:05 p.m.
7/4 @Mets 6:10 p.m.
7/5 @Mets 6:15 p.m.
7/6 @Mets 12:10 p.m.
