The Texas Rangers hope a return home will jumpstart their sputtering offense when they open a four-game series against the Oakland Athletics on Monday night in Arlington.
Left-handers will square off in the opener, with JP Sears (3-2, 3.21 ERA) starting for Oakland and Patrick Corbin (2-0, 3.77 ERA) taking the mound for Texas. It’s the start of a seven-game homestand for the Rangers, who will host the Seattle Mariners this weekend. Oakland, meanwhile, begins a seven-game road trip that continues in Miami.
Texas has scored more than four runs just once in its past nine games and ranks last in the majors in runs scored (86) and 29th in on-base percentage.
Cold Bats, Cold Gloves
The Rangers limp back to Arlington after losing four of six games in Northern California, capped by a 3-2 walk-off loss to the San Francisco Giants on Sunday. Texas has now dropped three straight series. Marcus Semien gave the Rangers an early lead with a two-out, two-run single in the first inning on Sunday, but Texas failed to cash in late chances and watched the game—and series—slip away on a ninth-inning single and two throwing errors, notably this one by reliever Luke Jackson.
“Nobody is content — not the players or the coaches,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. “They are all working at this. They are all going hard. That’s all you can ask of them. The results aren’t what they want, so we’ve got to stay with this and stay working to try to come out of this.”
Corbin has been a bright spot, allowing just two runs across five innings in his latest start — an 8-5 win over the Athletics last Tuesday. Over three outings for Texas, Corbin has struck out 13 and walked five, with opponents hitting just .182 against him. He’s 2-0 in his career against Oakland with a 2.25 ERA across 12 innings.
The A’s arrive in Arlington riding some momentum after Luis Urias’ walk-off two-run homer capped a 3-2 win in 10 innings over the Chicago White Sox on Sunday. Oakland had already taken two of three from Texas last week, winning the series on a walk-off single by Jacob Wilson in Sacramento.
Sears will try to pick up where he left off after limiting Texas to two runs over five innings in last week’s 5-2 Oakland win. He’s 5-1 with a 4.10 ERA in nine career starts against the Rangers.
Despite the struggles, Bochy remains optimistic. “It’s all about staying focused and trusting the process,” he said. “These guys have too much talent for this to last.”
As Field Level Media notes, Texas will need its offense to show signs of life quickly if it hopes to reverse its early-season struggles.
Rangers’ Bats Still Ice Cold; Road Trip Ends With Walk-Off Loss on Ugly Throw