Brought to you by: Big Shucks
The Texas Rangers had an excellent week against the Tigers and Phillies but struggled to maintain the same great form against the Red Sox and Blue Jays. The Rangers won only one game all week.
5/23 – Game 1 at the Red Sox – The Rangers began their weak against the Red Sox. The Red Sox have an elite rotation and started Rick Porcello. Porcello gave up eleven hits, but was slightly more effective than Andrew Casher. The game was 2-2 going into the bottom of the fifth inning, but the Rangers bullpen was shelled by the solid Boston offense. Former Brewers closer Jeremy Jeffress continued to struggle, walking three only getting one out. Shin-Soo Choo had a solid day, logging two hits and two RBIs. Joey Gallo also managed to log a homer. Ultimately the Rangers fell 11-6.
5/24 – Game 2 at the Red Sox – The Rangers faced off against AL ace Chris Sale. Sale spent last season with the White Sox and finished top five in strikeouts. Martin Perez went toe to toe with Sale, and the Rangers carried a 3-1 lead into the bottom of the 7th. Enter Sam Dyson. Dyson managed to inflate his ERA back above 10.00. He came in with a couple men on, and got two round balls. Both ground balls found their way out of the infield and Dyson could not recover. Dyson gave up four runs and failed to record a single out. Joey Gallo had a great at bat vs Chris Sale. Delino Deshields logged two runs. Mike Napoli continued to hit for power, cranking a solo homer off of Sale. The Rangers ultimately fell 9-4 in a game they led in the 7th.
5/25 – Game 3 at the Red Sox – The Rangers were dominated by former Padre Drew Pomeranz. He struck out eleven over six innings and gave up only two runs. The Sox bullpen pitched three scoreless innings and the Rangers were held to four hits. Nick Martinez had a decent start. Nomar Mazara had two hits. Other than that it was an uneventful loss for the Rangers.
5/26 – Game 1 at the Blue Jays – The Rangers returned to where their season ended to play their archrivals. The left side of the Jays infield was hurt for the beginning of the season and was back just in time to play the Rangers. Slugging shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and former MVP Josh Donaldson both had a hit in the opening game. AJ Griffin started game one. He gave up a grand slam and left the game injured in the 2nd inning. The Rangers were behind by several runs until they were one out away from demise. Rougie Odor blasted a massive three run shot to narrow the deficit to one run. The Rangers ultimately lost the game 7-6.
5/27 – Game 2 at the Blue Jays – Although the Rangers only lost this game 3-1 it was tough for multiple reasons. It was their fifth straight loss. Rougie Odor fell down running to first base. Worst of all, every RBI the Blue Jays got was at the hands of the loathed Jose Bautista. “Joey Bats” cranked a three-run homer off of Darvish in the fifth. Sam Dyson turned in a scoreless inning, but the Rangers offense was shut down by Marco Estrada and the Blue Jays bullpen. Estrada struck out eight, and gave up one run over six innings. The only run the Rangers got was a monster leadoff homer from Shin-Soo Choo.
5/28 – Game 3 at the Blue Jays – The Rangers tried to avoid back to back sweeps. Andrew Cashner turned in a top tier start, logging seven innings of one-run ball. He was opposed by Joe Biagini, who pitched seven innings of two-run ball. Elvis Andrus, Nomar Mazara, and Jonathan Lucroy all had multiple hits. Joey Gallo had a homer and a walk. Keone Kela and Matt Bush closed the game out with hard fastballs and sharp curves. The Rangers mercifully avoided a sweep.
Upcoming Schedule – All Times Central
5/29 vs Rays 7:05 p.m.
5/30 vs Rays 7:05 p.m.
5/31 vs Rays 7:05 p.m.
6/2 vs Astros 7:05 p.m.
6/3 vs Astros 6:15 p.m.
6/4 vs Astros 2:05 p.m.
