Gallo’s return can’t spark Rangers in 3-1 loss

Able to run at full speed, and with that trademark warehouse at Camden Yards in plain sight and certainly within reach, Joey Gallo returned to the starting lineup Monday.

That’s right: The slugger who was so sure he would open the season at Triple A that he at arranged for a rental house in Round Rock, is still part of the 2017 Texas Rangers.

How big of a part, though, has yet to be determined as the Rangers begin their second-half push for the playoffs. Gallo will be part of it, but so will Mike Napoli.

Matchups, travel days, who’s hot, who needs to play and the manager’s gut will play a role in determining who plays among that trio, but the factors all add up to one thing: Winning.

“Right now we’re looking at what is the right mix for us to win baseball games,” manager Jeff Banister said. “He’s in there today. I think he’s still in that priority rotation. It just happens that another one has shown up and earned his way in there, too.”

Gallo didn’t factor much in the Rangers’ 3-1 loss to the Baltimore Orioles. Chris Tillman, who entered with a 7.90 ERA, limited the Rangers to one run in six innings, and Baltimore scored three times in the sixth and seventh against Andrew Cashner.

Gallo walked in the third inning and struck out in the fifth before Napoli hit for him to start the eighth after the Orioles had scored two in the seventh to snap a 1-1 tie. The Rangers managed only three hits against Tillman and three relievers, two by Adrian Beltre as he moved within 18 hits of 3,000.

“We just had a down night as an offense, but I expect that to change,” said Jonathan Lucroy, who drove in the only run with a second-inning double. “It was one of those things where we’ve got to pick up our starter.”

Gallo didn’t start over the weekend at Kansas City, appearing only as a pinch-runner Saturday and scoring the game’s only run in the ninth inning, but the combination of his power and the hitter-friendly environs here made him a lock for his first start since the All-Star break.

Tillman, who entered with a .366 average against left-handed hitters, was also part of the equation that put Gallo in the lineup over Napoli, who is one of the Rangers’ hottest hitters with two homers and four extra-base hits during a four-game hitting streak and with an MLB-leading six homers this month.

Drew Robinson, who is also cutting into Gallo’s playing time, started in left field.

“That was a tough decision today,” Banister said. “When Nap gets hot, he can run the table for a while.”

With his left hamstring less of an issue, Gallo is hoping to continue what he started as a surprising first-half regular in the Rangers’ lineup. Numbers aren’t necessarily driving him as much as the goal of continuing to feel comfortable in a major league batting box.

The hits that will lift his average above. 200 may or may not come, but there’s a much better chance of that happening as long as he keeps having what he considers to be quality at-bats.

His first plate appearance Monday is an example. He fell behind Tillman 1-2 but ended up drawing a walk to start the third inning. It was his 15th walk after trailing 1-2, and that’s second in the majors.

“Individually, I just want to continue to have good at-bats and just feel good at the plate,” Gallo said. “You always want results, but I’m not really focused on just having good results. I’ve been having great at-bats the last couple weeks, and sometimes it just doesn’t always turn out.”

The Rangers’ pursuit of Chris Carter — a more experienced, less versatile, right-handed-hitting version of Gallo — comes as Gallo is dealing with a 3-for-27 slump and the second-lowest qualifying average in the major leagues.

But he was still getting on base at a better clip (.312) than teammates Napoli, Lucroy, Rougned Odor, and Robinson Chirinos. Only Chirinos and Beltre, two non-qualifiers, had high slugging percentages than Gallo (.502).

As such, Gallo will continue to be in the mix, and a source said that the Rangers’ pursuit of Carter is more about adding depth than replacing Gallo.

Now 92 games into the season, Gallo said that he no longer thinks about being sent down to the minors even though that is the likely outcome if the Rangers sign Carter. The surprise of still being in the majors has worn off.

“I’ve kind of surprised myself just coming up here and playing as well as I have,” Gallo said. “I haven’t been great or anything, but I’m just competing and showing that I can play up here. I’m learning a lot, and now I’m starting to believe that I really can be up here and turn into a star one day.”

Those days, though, in the second half are yet to be determined.

This story was originally published July 17, 2017 at 10:17 PM with the headline "Gallo’s return can’t spark Rangers in 3-1 loss."