Tragedy struck Dallas last week when Texas Rangers hard carry ace pitcher Jacob deGrom blew his arm out. The injury-prone best pitcher in baseball left his April 28th start against the Yankees with forearm discomfort. After a month of rest and some initial optimism, an MRI revealed the UCL (elbow ligament, similar to the ACL in the knee) was torn. This is the dreaded arm blow out all pitchers fear, the big injury that spells Tommy John Surgery.
The recovery time for Tommy John Surgery is between 12-20 months. deGrom will be on the shelf for the rest of this season, without a chance to come back until the middle of next year. This blow was devastating for the Rangers, as deGrom is the ultimate weapon in the playoffs. Jake has blown his arm out once before. That means this will be his second Tommy John Surgery. Some pitchers, like Justin Verlander, have had a second TJS and have been just as good. Will deGrom be as good when he returns? Will he have to move to the bullpen? The Rangers are counting on him coming back to prime form and continuing to start, as opposed to being moved to the bullpen.
deGrom was obviously devastated by the news. As reporters peppered him with questions about his arm he broke down into tears. Jake might have only been here for one season so far, but he is completely committed and truly wants to win. The Rangers had a weird option year on Jake’s contract that kicked in if he blew his arm out within the first two seasons of the deal. That option has obviously been activated automatically. It was a very odd stipulation in the deal, but also one that provided protection against an occurrence like this. But will the Rangers want deGrom for all those years for an insane amount of money if he is severely diminished? Jake’s road to recovery will be long and arduous, but his success is crucial to the Rangers future.
Before the brutal Jacob deGrom news broke the Rangers played their rivals: the Seattle Mariners. After losing the previous series against the Rangers in Seattle, the Mariners traveled to Texas. For Rangers fans, this series would be akin to getting to hear Iron Maiden’s Rime of the Ancient Mariner live. Rangers starter Jon Gray played the frontman Bruce Dickenson’s role as the the protagonist adorn in absurd, bedraggled Captain accouterments. Gray emulated late Bering Sea crab fisherman Phil Harris in this start. Like Captain Phil, Gray showed tremendous poise under pressure and control of his instruments (boat/slider/heater.) Jon Gray was not smoking cigarettes like Phil Harris, or Keith Hernandez for that matter; but he was burning down Mariners like Captain Phil burned through smokes. The Mariners were lost at sea offensively this start against Gray, who went 7 shutout IP with a mere 2 hits allowed.
“I’ll burn this rat til he turns to ash!” – Canadian Rapper Hollohan AKA G.O.D
Mariners ace Luis Castillo was solid in this start. Castillo has long dreadlocks, throws righty, and has a nasty sinker he throws down in the zone. Castillo was excellent, going 7 strong and only allowing 1 ER. Both him and Gray only allowed one walk. Both him and Gray are fringe top 10 starting pitchers in the AL. Gray has been truly exceptional this season, hammering the zone with his heater and dominating righties with his slider. When healthy, he is everything the Rangers hoped for when signing him from Colorado two years ago. Gray can be confidently filed away into the “success” column of free agent pitching signings. When at 100% health he is simply electric.
The Rangers led 1-0 when Gray left the game after 7. A one run lead for the Rangers weak bullpen is not safe. The weak Rangers bullpen used an electric rookie and their lockdown closer to secure the W. Both Grant Anderson and Will Smith threw a scoreless inning to preserve the shutout for Texas. Win 2-0.
Game 2 – Andrew Heaney had another poor start in this affair. He is an odd cat, a bizarre case. He is either electric or awful, there seems to be no in between. While Heaney flipped sliders up to the plate with no idea where they were going, Mariners prospect Bryan Woo got his doors blown off against the best offense in baseball. Semien and Seager both cooked Woo in the first two innings, earning important hits in each inning. Having Semien and Seager produce is the backbone of the Rangers attack. They are carries and simply need to perform to the best of their abilities to give the Rangers a shot to win a pennant. The offense does not function without Semien and Seager. They combined for seven hits this game and left little of the Mariners like a capsized boat tragedy.
The Rangers were up 6-1 on their hated rivals entering the 4th. Seattle scored two runs in the 4th after Heaney was given the lead and a chance. Heaney seems to be awful or electric with little in between. That is still better than being awful all the time like many Rangers pitchers over the last six years.
Josh Sborz came into the 4th to clean up Heaney’s mess. Sborz has nasty stuff but has no idea where it is going. He got blown up in his appearances prior to this. But Sborz was sharp in this outing, limiting the damage in the 4th and pitching a scoreless 5th. If Sborz ever masters his control he will be a top end bullpen arm. He throws a hard heater and a nasty 90+ MPH slider. After Sborz ended the top of the 5th quickly the Rangers added three more runs on a Leody Taveras homer. Taveras looks significantly more comfortable at the plate this season, especially when he is behind in the count.
Up 10-3, the Rangers made the game ugly in the 7th. Mitch Garver and Josh Smith both reached to start the inning. Marcus Semien hit a three run bomb after that. The offense kept pouring it on and it was 15-3 at the end of 7. In lieu of a “gg” button the Mariners pitched first baseman Mike Ford in the 9th. They might as well have been pitching famous Bering Sea crab fisherman Lynn Guitard. The Mariners spent all day hauling blanks. The Rangers dropped double digit runs on a team again. Win 16-6.
Game 3 – Nathan Eovaldi has been the ace of the Rangers staff since Jacob deGrom blew his arm out. His GOD TIER May was one of the main reasons the Rangers stayed in first. He proved he can truly carry when all the chips are down, just like in Boston before he hurt his shoulder. He was razor sharp this game, going 6 IP and only allowing one hit. He was afforded an early lead, going up 2-0 after the 1st and 7-0 after the 3rd. The Mariners were a crab fisherman without hydraulics after the 7-0 deficit was established.
The Mariners were brutalized again in this game, tiring their bullpen and demoralizing their starters. These are the sort of wins you want against your division rivals. You want to embarrass them. You want to stomp them into oblivion. You want to keep hammering away at them until there is nothing left. The Rangers did just that, hanging double digits on the Mariners two games in a row and proving that they were a flash in the pan gimmick team last season. Robbie Ray being hurt takes legitimacy away from the Mariners like a lack of crab quota and Captain experience. Mariners embarrassed 12-3.
The Rangers took on the hated Saint Louis Cardinals in their next series. The Cards were the team that broke the Rangers heart in the 2011 World Series. I am not going to rehash the details of that atrocity, it is on the level of the Red Sox 1986 Bill Buckner choke. The 2011 Game 6 World Series choke made me more angry than any other event in sports history. The eternal cynic actually let his guard down. I actually believed they would win in 2011. The lead was there, the top end closer on the mound… lead blown… then Hamilton saved us! The drug addict’s most powerful redemption arc! But alas, that lead was also blown…
“Now you got nothin!”- Tony Soprano
Game 1 – Adam Wainwright, hard carry ace of the Cardinals back in 2006, is still the Cards best pitcher. He started this game and is known for his big curveball, a curve made famous in Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS when Mets star Carlos Beltran struckout looking at it. Wainwright, the ancient vet, threw 5.1 IP and allowed 3 ER. The Rangers were up 3-1 going into the 8th. Grant Anderson had his first poor outing of the year. He allowed the game to be tied at 3. Top end closer Will Smith kept the game tied in the 9th. The bottom of the 9th began with a Leody Taveras out. Marcus Semien walked, Corey Seager singled, then Nathaniel Lowe hit a walkoff single. Does it make 2011 hurt less? No, not really. Win 4-3.
Game 2 – The Rangers bespectacled righty Dane Dunning took a 6-2 lead into the 6th inning when he got popped for a couple homers. Cole Ragans came in to preserve the 6-4 lead. Josh Sborz came in after him and showed what it looks like when he actually has command. He went 1.2 IP and struck out four. Will Smith locked the save down in the 9th. Marcus Semien was sharp in this game. Seager failed to reach base, which is rare. Win 6-4.
Game 3 – On June 7th gallant righty Jon Gray took the mound. The night was a humid, tepid affair. Rangers skipper Bruce Bochy benched many of his best bats, relying on a lefty heavy lineup. Tension came to head in the bottom of the first when Cards starter Jack Flaherty walked the bases loaded. Jonah Heim and Travis Jankowski both made outs in the 1st with the bases juiced; making obvious light of the lack of Adolis Garcia. This entire game was a study in the act of resting talent, to be honest. Letting an ace like Jack Flaherty escape the 1st inning unscathed after loading the bases is brutal. Good pitchers are most vulnerable in the 1st inning. Scoring runs off of them early before they find their rhythm is the best way to beat them. The 1st inning is also the only inning in all of baseball where you can guarantee a certain build order of hitters. All other innings begin with a batter determined by the last out made in the previous inning; meaning a team could go an entire game where their leadoff hitter never gets to leadoff an inning! Both teams get to begin the 1st inning with their leadoff hitter. They structure the lineup to maximize the chances to score in the 1st inning. Thus when the Rangers failed to score a single run in the 1st, it was the game defining moment despite occurring early. The inning began with Marcus Semien grounding out. Semien failed to earn a hit this game, ending his hitting streak at 25 games. The Rangers all time record is 28, held hilariously by Gabe Kapler.
The Rangers repeatedly failed to accomplish their goal of scoring an opening run against the Cards after the wasted opportunity in the 1st. Jack Flaherty got into trouble repeatedly but never allowed a run. This pitchers duel was tense until the 7th, when the Cards skipper finally relented and brought in Jordan Hicks. Hicks is insanely filthy. He throws a 102 MPH sinker with extreme run. He is sort of like Dodgers starter Dustin May. He throws an insane heater with extreme two seam run. Hicks recorded a scoreless inning despite a double. The Rangers went to bed easily enough for Hicks in the 7th. The lineup was incredibly short for the Rangers. Utility man Josh Smith and 3rd catcher Sandy Leon batted 8th and 9th and were basically automatic outs. Zeke Duran, Adolis Garcia, Leody Taveras, and Mitch Garver were all benched in favor of lefties. Flaherty was supposed to be weak against hitters like Robbie Grossman and Travis Jankowski, but seeing the Rangers best bats ride the pine while Josh Smith and Sandy Leon made fools of themselves was vexing. The logic to doing this was to rest the best bats before the crucial Rays series. In truth it wasted an electric Jon Gray start. Gray went the full 9, striking out 12 and allowing a solo homer. Gray was incredibly nasty and faced the minimum through six innings. It was not enough as the dregs of the Rangers bench failed to put up a single run. Loss 1-0.
Series against the Rays
Game 1 – of this series was boring and one-sided. Tyler Glasnow shut down the Rangers and Andrew Heaney failed to record a quality start. The Rangers had 3 hits all game. The game was 4-1 when Rangers pitching prospect Spencer Howard came in and got destroyed. The game was 8-1 when Howard got done with it and he was on his way back down to AAA before the blood was dry at The Trop. Loss 8-3.
Game 2 – Seager and Semien produced and thus the Rangers won. The top two carries of the lineup adorned the top two spots of the order and showed why Skipper Bochy writes it as such every day. Semien went 2-5 with a run. Seager went 5-5 with two runs and four RBI. Nathan Eovaldi was decent in this one: 6.1 IP, 4 ER, 3 BB. Josh Sborz was electric behind him with 1.2 innings of scoreless relief. Will Smith shut the door in the 9th despite the lack of save situation, which was the right call. Win 8-4.
Game 3 – Martin Perez got popped again in his start against filthy Shane McClanahan. Perez has not looked the same since his streak of quality starts got put to an end. He looks like, well, old Martin Perez. Old like his 2013 version, not old as in elderly. This game was ugly early. The final game being so bad soured some of the storylines of this series: like Nate Lowe playing against his brother. Loss 7-3.
Division rival Angels come to town.
Game 1 – The Angels came to town boasting a solid offense led by the best current American player: Mike Trout. He is joined by the Japanese Babe Ruth: Shohei Ohtani. This game was 5-4 Rangers in the 7th inning when Grant Anderson gave up a monster solo shot to Ohtani. The game remained tied going into the 9th when the Rangers had runners on 2nd and 3rd when Josh Jung and Jonah Heim made outs to send the game to extras. The potent Angels attack was held off and the Rangers failed to score their gimmick runner in the bottom of the 10th. The Rangers choked their scoring opportunity away in 11th in identical fashion. The 3 straight innings of garbage were too much for the bullpen to handle. The Angels exploded in the 12th. The Rangers offense shut down late and they lost a BRUTAL game. Marcus Semien went 0-7. Loss 9-6.
Game 2 – Marcus Semien failed to record a hit against a bunch of poor Angels pitchers in this poor contest. Adolis Garcia stayed cold too. Owen White got the loss in a game it is hard to believe the Rangers ever led. Loss 7-3.
Game 3 – Andrew Heaney burned himself out early against his old team. He threw 95 pitches and could not get out of the 4th. Grant Anderson and Josh Sborz were excellent in relief. They combined for 4.1 IP of hitless ball. Semien got 2 hits and RBI on Nate Lowe’s off day. Zeke Duran got the start at first base. The Rangers did their damage late to the Halo’s bullpen. Win 6-3.
Game 4 – Shohei Ohtani pitched the final game of the series and was great. 6 IP, 2 ER. He also had a back-breaking 2 run homer late. Josh Smith got the start at 3rd for a resting Josh Jung. He failed to record a hit, as usual. Marcus Semien, Bruce Bochy, and Mike Maddox all got ejected near the end of this game. They were all disputing a check swing call. The umpires were out of control this game. Ohtani was out of control this game. Loss 5-3.
The Rangers take on the Blue Jays next.
Upcoming Schedule – All Times Central
6/16 vs Blue Jays – 7:05 p.m.
6/17 vs Blue Jays – 3:05 p.m.
6/18 vs Blue Jays – 1:35 p.m.
6/19 @White Sox – 7:10 p.m.
6/20 @White Sox – 7:10 p.m.
6/21 @White Sox – 7:10 p.m.
6/23 @Yankees – 6:05 pm.
6/24 @Yankees – 3:05 p.m.
6/25 @Yankees – 12:35 p.m.
