Photo Courtesy: Dominic Ceraldi
The Texas Rangers went up to Wrigley Field and made fools of themselves early in the week last week. The offense failed to show up during the cold series on the North Side. They were shutout in the opening game. They were utterly uncompetitive in the opening salvo, notching three hits. The Cubs won 7-0.
The second game of the series saw Marcus Semien go hitless again. Joc Pederson also went hitless. Pederson’s Rangers tenure has turned into a grotesque joke. Speaking of grotesque jokes, Patrick Corbin started this game for the Rangers. He was predictably ineffective. Wyatt Langford strained his oblique in this boring affair. Josh Jung returned from injury in this loss. The Rangers could not even keep the lineup together for a single game. Loss 10-6.
Tyler Mahle was electric for the Rangers in the final game of this series. He logged 7 IP and gave up 2 hits. The Rangers got to Shota Imanaga early. Seager hit a homer off of him early. Shota is one of the best pitchers in the NL. He was ineffective in this game. Seager homered later in the 7th too. Josh Jung and Adolis Garcia both had an RBI. Win 6-2.
Seattle Series
Game 1: The Rangers traveled to division rival Seattle during the weekend. This was easily their most important series to date of the season. The Rangers offense did not show up all weekend. Jacob deGrom took the mound on Friday. He is still trying to master his new style that involves more curveballs and changeups. When Jake was at the peak of his powers in 2018, he was a true power pitcher in every sense of the word. He threw a blistering 102 with a 92 MPH slider. He dominated through raw power, refusing to let his opponents even play the game. In deference to his fragile arm, Jake has elected to not relentlessly burn batters down with unhittable filth every pitch. Jake was not a “thrower” before. His pinpoint control made him a true pitcher, not a thrower. Jake just needs to learn how to pitch with a more standard four pitch starter mix, as opposed to the top end fastball/slider combo he has been using. He has always had a curve in his back pocket, but he basically never threw it. He is using the same four pitches as before, but in a completely different way. The force and power of the pitches are slightly nerfed down. With pinpoint control, which Jake has, even throwing max effort, the arsenal is still elite. Jake is basically having to relearn all new pitching build orders on the fly. Hopefully Pitching Coach Mike Maddux can ease this transition. Jake looked irritated in this game. He never looks irritated.
The Rangers only managed to get Jake three runs in this boring loss. Marcus Semien went 1-5 to raise his average to .130. Loss 5-3.
Game 2 – The Rangers were smashed in the Saturday game. Kumar Rocker started for the Rangers and looked ineffective again. Mariners starter Bryan Woo shut the Rangers down. Corey Seager, Josh Smith, Adolis Garcia, and Josh Jung all had two hits. Joc Pederson went hitless again! Loss 9-2.
Game 3 – Joc Pederson was hilariously started at leadoff this game. Was Bochy trying to show Pederson up, knowing he would fail? It seems a more likely outcome than Pederson getting a hit. Pederson led the charge into oblivion as the Rangers squeaked out one run. Seattle swept them in crushing fashion. The Rangers lost their division lead already. The lowly Angels stole the spot the Rangers gave away. The Rangers were lifeless in this 3-1 loss.
So what is wrong with the Rangers? Joc Pederson is hitting .077. Marcus Semien is sleepwalking through the beginning of the year as usual. .123 BA. Jake Burger is hitting .140 where Nate Lowe used to be. Leody Taveras and Ezequiel Duran have made fools of themselves as expected. Josh Jung and Wyatt Langford have both been great. They have also both been hurt.
Jake does not look like Jake. The offense is a putrid joke. The bullpen is full of question marks. The Rangers are bleeding out in the second week of the season.
