Injuries, deadline moves have helped fix one area that has hampered the Texas Rangers
Friday was another one of those nights for the Texas Rangers’ offense.
They did enough to avoid being shut out, but didn’t do enough to win the game.
In the end, they were a hit away, albeit a three-run homer needed to tie the game.
The Rangers had only five hits, three of which came in the ninth. That was the only inning they put multiple runners on.
One of those hits was a solo home run by Jose Trevino, who with Nick Solak has been the Rangers’ top power hitter the past few weeks.
Yet, the pitching and defense were good enough to keep the Rangers within striking distance.
Here’s some Rangers Reaction from a 6-3 loss to the Seattle Mariners.
Defense shines
It was only a matter of time until a game situation developed that would allow Leody Taveras to show off his arm in center field.
That happened in the second inning, after the Rangers’ lone error of the game allowed Seattle to take a 1-0 lead.
Ty France was at first base and broke to steal second as Jose Marmolejos sent a fly-ball toward Taveras. He grabbed it, then fired a one-hopper to first base to double off France.
Give credit to first baseman Ronald Guzman for scooping the throw.
That play came an inning after left fielder Eli White, who made his MLB debut on Tuesday, leaped to rob Dylan Moore of a possible solo home run.
White was playing left field as Solak shifted to second base. Solak made two solid plays in the fourth to limit the Mariners to only two runs.
The infield was in with one out and a runner at third when Solak moved to his right and slid to his knees for a chopper. The runner at third had to hold as Solak threw to first.
The next play was a grounder in roughly the same spot. Solak didn’t go to his knees, but he made a strong off-balance throw to first to end the inning.
The Rangers recalled Taveras on Aug. 25 and inserted him into center field. The defense has been noticeably better in each series since.
“We’ve played well. I’ve thought we outplayed the opposing team each time,” manager Chris Woodward said. “It’s fun to watch. It was fun to watch Eli in left field. He made that play look pretty easy.”
The moves the Rangers did make Monday at the trade deadline created an opportunity to upgrade the defense, as have injuries to Willie Calhoun, Danny Santana and Rougned Odor.
The Santana injury opened a roster spot for Guzman. Santana and the traded Todd Frazier probably don’t catch the Taveras throw.
Odor’s eye issues have Solak at second, and Calhoun’s strained quad has allowed White to show his defensive worth.
A team that can’t score and has trouble pitching can’t also have trouble fielding. The Rangers have finally upgraded with the glove.
“It helps our pitching staff,” Woodward said. “Hopefully we get some bats rolling and play a complete game. If we pitch, field and hit at the same time, we have a chance to win some games.”
Cody solid
Kyle Cody’s worst throw of the night wasn’t even to home plate.
He threw wildly on a second-inning pickoff throw, which allowed Kyle Seager to move into scoring position and score an unearned run on a single by France.
Now, the pitch he hit Seager with wasn’t very good, but the other 44 he threw over three innings in his first MLB start left the Rangers wanting to see more.
He allowed only one hit and two walks while striking out two. The Rangers will likely let him be stretched out to four or five innings when he starts again next week.
“I thought Kyle looked a lot like he has the whole time,” Woodward said. “He pounded the strike zone. He threw a lot of change-ups today. He hadn’t really done that before. He threw all of his pitches today.”
Left-hander John King, a native Texan, made his MLB debut after Cody exited, and didn’t fare quite as well. The Mariners got him for two in the fourth, but he was the beneficiary of Solak’s solid defense.
King rebounded with a scoreless fifth after his nerves settled down some. That’s understandable for a pitcher who was making his first appearance above High A.
“I think it’s a confident thing, a comfort thing,” King said. “First time out I had confidence, but it’s just different. That first outing is out of the way, and I need to continue to get back to work.”
Wes Benjamin pitched around two walks in the sixth, and Jimmy Herget tossed a scoreless seventh before Taylor Hearn coughed up a three-run homer in the eighth.
That turned out to be critical, as the Rangers scored two in the ninth.
In the ninth ...
The Rangers didn’t have much pressure in the final inning, which started with Ronald Guzman tapping out to the catcher, so maybe that’s why the offense had its best inning of the night.
But a few things happened that could turn a couple hitters in the right direction.
Start with White, who is 0 for 9 to start his MLB career. He was robbed of singles in his two at-bats before drawing a walk in the ninth. Just getting on base and eventually scoring a run could help him get loose.
Taveras was next. He dumped a single into center field to snap an 0-for-16 skid in which he hadn’t done much of anything well. It came as a left-handed hitter, which should be a surprise. The Rangers are trying to get him going right-handed.
Joey Gallo, whose struggles are well-documented, kept the game alive with two outs by cueing one off the end of the bat into left field to beat an infield shift and drive in a run. With his average at .178, he’ll take any kind of hit.
As the baseball adage goes, those might be the kind of things that get these guys going.
Maybe that’s wishful thinking, but a little optimism never hurts.
This story was originally published September 5, 2020 at 12:02 AM.
