Texas Rangers swept in Seattle, lose sixth straight, 12th consecutive on road
The struggle is real and it continues for the Texas Rangers.
The Seattle Mariners completed a four-game sweep with a 4-2 win over the Rangers Sunday afternoon at T-Mobile Park.
The Rangers have lost six consecutive games and their past 12 road games. Their last road win was May 6 in Minnesota. It matches the franchise record for consecutive road losses first set in 2003.
“I think I saw a lot of frustration out there,” Rangers manager Chris Woodward said. “I don’t want to call it the bottom, but it feels like that.”
Joey Gallo’s two-run home run in the seventh pulled the Rangers to within two but the Mariners’ bullpen held on to preserve the win behind a strong start by Yusei Kikuchi. He outpitched Rangers’ starter Hyeon-Jong Yang.
Kikuchi held the Rangers to two runs on three hits and a walk in 6 2/3 innings. Yang allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits and a walk in three innings.
Texas scored six runs combined in the four games in Seattle. The Rangers were held to 22 hits in the four games and struck out 34 times.
The Rangers are off Monday before starting a three-game series against the Rockies at 7:40 p.m. Tuesday in Colorado. Woodward said he talked to a few of the team’s veterans about perhaps taking some of the younger players out to dinner on the off day to help allay any lingering frustrations.
“This is a significant test for our younger guys,” he said. “Baseball is going to test you physically, it’s going to test you mentally. I feel like this off day is important for them to reset their brain. The world is not ending, it may feel like that to some of the younger guys. We can’t let that frustration boil over into that next game.”
This story was originally published May 30, 2021 at 6:13 PM.
