Rangers Reaction: Colon still strong, but offense still whiffing on opportunities
Bartolo Colon wasn't flirting with history Saturday night, but he was still big and he was still sexy.
In his first start since taking a perfect game into the eighth inning last Sunday in Houston, Colon left with a chance to earn the win after 5 2/3 innings. He led 5-4, but the Mariners' five runs in the seventh, including four against Alex Claudio (see No. 5), was enough for Seattle to hold on for a 9-7 win Saturday night at Globe Life Park.
Colon allowed seven hits and a walk and struck out two. The biggest blow against Colon was a two-run homer to left by Nelson Cruz in the fourth that pulled the Mariners to within 4-3. Cruz had narrowly missed a home just foul of the foul pole on the previous pitch. It was reviewed and the foul stood. On the next pitch, he left no doubt.
The Rangers are now 7-15. It's their worst start since 2008. They're now 2-10 at home, including six consecutive losses in Arlington. No Rangers team has ever started so badly at home. Texas has left 159 runners on base, including 13 Saturday night, and was 3 for 18 with runners in scoring position. The 159 left on base is among the most in the majors, depending on how other teams did on Saturday.
Here are five thoughts from another loss as Smash Mouth plays a post-game concert to about 200 hearty souls who stayed until almost 1 a.m. for the entire 40-minute show. You're all All-Stars!
1. Rain delay — The start of the game was delayed an hour and 25 minutes because of a heavy rainstorm moving through the area. It's the second rain-delayed game at Globe Life Park this season.
2. DeShields — Delino DeShields was 0 for 1 with two walks as a designated hitter for Double-A Frisco Saturday night. DeShields is 3 for 7 in three games with the RoughRiders. He could be activated off the disabled list for Sunday's finale against the Mariners. Manager Jeff Banister said DeShields would be evaluated again before a decision was made. Banister stressed that he was hesitant to rush DeShields back after having surgery to remove the broken hamate bone in his left hand on March 30.
3. Double your pleasure — The Rangers collected six doubles Saturday night, including two from Shin-Soo Choo. Choo leads Texas with six doubles. The previous high for doubles in a game this season was four on April 8 against the Blue Jays.
4. Beltre milestone watch — Adrian Beltre went 1 for 3 with an RBI. His seventh-inning single was No. 3,070, 11 shy of No. 22 all-time Cap Anson. It's Beltre's 1,648th RBI, which moves him to within four of tying Tony Perez for 30th all-time. Next on the all-time RBI list is No. 29 Sammy Sosa at 1,667. Beltre has 5,151 total bases in his career. He trails No. 16 Cal Ripken (5,168) by 17 bases.
5. Rough one for Claudio — Claudio was charged for four runs on four hits, including a two-run homer by Robinson Cano in the seventh. Claudio didn't record an out. Claudio had never allowed four runs in a game in his five-year career, which includes one start. He made 153 appearances in the majors before allowing more than three earned runs in a game.
This story was originally published April 22, 2018 at 1:23 AM with the headline "Rangers Reaction: Colon still strong, but offense still whiffing on opportunities."