Texas Rangers manager calls meeting after seventh straight loss. Here’s what he said.
As a camera zoomed in on the sixth Seattle Mariners hitter to bat in the third inning, captured in the background were Texas Rangers manager Chris Woodward and bench coach Don Wakamatsu.
It looked to be a fairly animated discussion, with Wakamatsu gesturing with his hands as if he were measuring the dimensions of box or window. Both were talking, or at least the masks they were wearing were moving.
The way things were going, they might have been yawning.
More likely is that they were screaming or cursing as they watched another starting pitcher dig another large hole that they knew the offense was incapable of escaping.
They were right.
Here’s some Rangers Reaction from a seventh straight loss, this time 10-1 to the Mariners.
Meeting time
For everyone out there tired of seeing the rotation blow up, the offense drag its feet until it’s too late and the defense stink, just imagine how tired Woodward is of it.
On Saturday night, with his team’s frustration growing, he finally had to pull his players together to clear the air. They are tired of all the losing, too.
“I said, ‘Nobody’s going to feel sorry for us,’” Woodward said. “We’ve got to get ourselves out of this. We’ve got to play better all around.”
Woodward didn’t scold the team. He always tries his best to ooze positivity. He might answer questions from the media directly, but the overall context usually comes in a positive or compassionate light.
To that end, he talked about the positives he found. He actually thought the Rangers had quality at-bats throughout the game and pointed to double-digits in hard-hit balls as his proof.
“I know they’re trying,” Woodward said. “I know they’re trying to compete, but we’ve got to start coming up with some solutions to this. We’re not going to win too many games. It’s not a good recipe for success.”
The biggest issue is the large early deficits they have faced. The offense, already short on punch and now dealing with injuries to multiple regulars, has to be perfect and have a lot of luck to have a chance.
The Rangers didn’t quit down 8-1, Woodward said. Nick Solak made a nice diving catch in left field in the fourth, Jose Trevino had a fourth straight multi-hit game and Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s bat appears to be getting started again.
But even when the Rangers have done things right during their long skid, they have still managed to lose games. Those are instances when a team can bail out on a season.
Woodward vowed that won’t happen as long as he’s manager.
“This team has a lot of fight in it,” he said. “The character in the clubhouse is there. There’s moments, though, when a team starts to lose hope. The way we’ve been playing, it seems like everything is crashing down, and it’s at that point we’ve got to hold our heads high.”
For starters ...
Jordan Lyles is scheduled to make his next start Thursday at Globe Life Field. His opponent will be the best in baseball.
All he has to do before facing the Los Angeles Dodgers is figure out what has caused him to pitch to a 9.25 ERA in the first year of his two-year, $16 million deal with the Rangers.
One of the worst teams knocked him around for eight runs in four innings. Three came in the first, and five came in the third after the Rangers had scored their only run of the game.
Seattle collected 11 hits, including a three-run homer by Evan White. Afterward, Woodward said he could tell Lyles was tipping pitches, which could be a reason why he’s been getting knocked around.
But that’s not the only reason.
“I don’t think it’s a cure-all. I think he needs to pitch better,” Woodward said. “I think there are still too many pitches, and he doesn’t establish his breaking ball. So the fact that if he is throwing pitches that they know are coming, it’s still the lack of execution that’s getting him hit hard.”
The Rangers have allowed 61 runs during the skid. Their starting pitchers have allowed 38 of them. The four starters not named Lance Lynn have allowed 36 of those.
The rotation, as memory serves, was supposed to be the strength of the team. That was before Corey Kluber was injured, Mike Minor had a dead arm and Lyles lost all of the effectiveness he had late last season.
Much was made of the fact that Lyles spent baseball’s shutdown in Denver, which was early to quarantine. That kept Lyles from facing hitters until a few weeks before summer camp started July 3.
He was behind, though not this far behind.
There was no shortage of hard contact, similar to how he pitched Monday against the San Diego Padres. His command was sporadic at best.
The kicker is the Rangers can’t do much about it.
They could skip his turn next time through, moving Wes Benjamin into the his spot rather than having Benjamin replace Kolby Allard on Wednesday.
Whatever Lyles is doing needs to be addressed. His outings have been non-competitive, and sending him out in the same form he’s been in doesn’t do him or the Rangers any good.
“We’ve got to solve this thing because there’s not a lot of mis-hits off of his pitches right now,” Woodward said. “And we need him to get through some games for us.”
Terrific return
Taylor Hearn will never forget April 25, 2019, the day of his MLB debut, even though it was a forgettable performance against the Mariners at T-Mobile Park.
He allowed four runs, recorded one out, and didn’t pitch again that season because of an elbow injury. He had career ERA of 108.00 until he made his 2020 debut two weeks ago.
Hearn was back on the mound in Seattle on Saturday. The circumstances were entirely different, with him the first man out of the bullpen after Lyles’ four ineffective innings, and the results were, too.
The left-hander retired the first four hitters he faced, flashing upper-90s velocity, and made it through two scoreless innings in his best outing of the season. He allowed one hit and one walk, and struck out five.
“Tonight was a big night for Taylor Hearn,” Trevino said. “I don’t know if anybody knows that. I know that for sure, mentally. Coming back to a place where he didn’t do so well. He walked off this field injured. For him to come back and pitch as well as he did tonight, for me personally, that’s a big step in the right direction for him, and I think that’s awesome.”
The refinement of his slider has helped Hearn be more effective, and he is feeling more at ease with each big-league appearance.
The Rangers haven’t given up on him as a starting pitcher, though his role will likely be limited to the bullpen this season. He can cover multiple innings or enter against a stretch of tough lefty hitters.
“He can do a lot for us,” Woodward said. “He looks more comfortable on the mound. He’s a big strong kid. He throws hard. He’s left-handed. It’s not a comfortable at-bat. It shouldn’t be for a lefty.”
This story was originally published August 23, 2020 at 12:14 AM.
