Umpire’s leg kicks Texas Rangers in record-setting loss. But that’s not why they lost
Kyle Gibson was scheduled to throw an extended bullpen session Tuesday, which could serve as the final hurdle before he can come off the 10-day injured list.
The Texas Rangers would likely wait to see how his injured right groin feels Wednesday and maybe even Thursday before deciding if he can start Friday against the Tampa Bay Rays at Globe Life Field.
Gibson has been the Rangers’ best starter this season, and it’s not even close. He’s 3-0 with a 2.24 ERA after 10 starts.
Fellow right-hander Dane Dunning has been running hot and cold in his first full MLB season. He’s been frigid in the first inning, in which he has given up 15 runs in 11 starts, but terrific thereafter.
He allowed one first-inning run Tuesday against the Colorado Rockies in a peculiar fashion.
How much did it hurt him and the Rangers?
Here’s some Rangers Reaction from a 3-2 loss, a club-record 13th straight loss on the road.
Rangers’ bad luck
A scoreless first inning for Dunning was in the bag.
All that needed to happen was for second baseman Nick Solak, stationed perfectly, to field C.J. Cron’s grounder right at him.
“He probably could have kicked it to first and gotten the out,” Dunning said.
But the ball was right at umpire David Rackley, too.
It hit Rackley in the leg. Rather than the Rangers recording the final out, Cron reached by rule on a single and the runner at second, Ryan McMahon, stayed put.
The next hitter was Charlie Blackmon, and his soft single to left field scored McMahon for the game’s first run.
“I haven’t seen that in 25 years, giving up a run,” manager Chris Woodward said.
Adolis Garcia saved at least one more run with a diving catch in center field to end the inning, but the damage had been done.
But is it the reason the Rangers lost the game?
“That’s not the reason we lost today,” Woodward said. “We definitely got unlucky a few times. But that’s life, man. We’ve got to make our own luck.”
The Rangers failed to score in extra innings, which these days begin with a runner at second base. It seems really hard to not score, yet the Rangers made it look easy.
They went 0 for 4 with runners in scoring position in extras and 0 for 6 in the game, leaving them 1 for 33 on the road trip. That’s really hard to do, too.
Another way to look at that: The Rangers were given four of the opportunities by rule. They generated only two on their own as the offense managed only four hits and two walks.
One of the misses in extra innings was a bullet by Brock Holt to lead off the 10th ... right into the glove of first baseman Joshua Fuentes. It was nearly a go-ahead double.
“He was a little unlucky there,” Woodward said.
For the second time during the record road losing streak, the Rangers lost on an extra-innings wild pitch with Brett Martin pitching and Jonah Heim catching. Those are the Rangers’ only two losses this season in eight extra-inning games. (That’s crazy.)
“I thought Brett Martin did a great job for us,” Woodward said. “It’s a similar situation, a similar result. I wanted him to throw that same pitch. You expect to block it 10 out of 10 times, but it just squirted away from him. It’s just one of those things.”
Khris Davis sighting
The Rangers don’t have a spot for Khris Davis to play every day. He is the player Woodward prefers to use in critical pinch-hitting opportunities.
That was the case in the eighth inning Tuesday, and Davis delivered.
The veteran sent a solo home run into the right-field seats to forge a 2-2 tie.
It was Davis’ first home run of the season in 41 at-bats. He has seven hits.
So, the Rangers’ luck wasn’t all bad.
Davis was one of the game’s best power hitters for three seasons, but is a shell of that player. Everyday playing time, it seems, isn’t going to magically make him that player again.
But he has a roster spot and a $16.75 million contract, and both are stiff-arming others who can make a claim that they should be on the roster. Chief among them is Delino DeShields, who is batting .363 after a 2-for-5 game Tuesday with a double that boosted his OPS to .971.
And don’t lose track of Leody Taveras, the rookie who was sent down after struggling in April. He went 2 for 4 with a double to raise his average to .239, a 57-point jump in the past week.
Taveras also has five homers and a .763 OPS.
King a starter?
Left-hander John King was the first man out of the bullpen, and he delivered two scoreless innings on three hits.
The rookie has become a vital relief piece out of a bullpen lacking consistency and right-handers. The Rangers know that King is going to attack hitters and throw a lot of groundballs with his two-seam fastball.
And they need to give him a new role.
King was a starter throughout the minors. He impressed with his mound presence, tempo, stuff and guts. The Rangers believe King can be a starter in the future.
It just so happens that Kohei Arihara won’t pitch again until late August or early September. Hyeon-Jong Yang is holding down that spot for now, but there is plenty of time for the Rangers to take a look at others there.
Taylor Hearn could get a chance. Kolby Allard should get a chance. So should King.
This story was originally published June 2, 2021 at 12:20 AM.
