Will the Texas Rangers ever score again? Team shutout for 3rd straight game for 1st time
The Texas Rangers have never been this bad.
If not reflected in their record — and that is the third-worst in the majors — their past four games have been statistically their worst. That includes Monday’s 14-0 loss to the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park.
The Rangers were shutout for the third consecutive game, a first for the team since it moved to Arlington in 1972.
“We got out butts kicked tonight, again,” Rangers manager Chris Woodward said. “I’m embarrassed. I think our entire team should be embarrassed. If you’re not embarrassed you really don’t belong on our team or on the field.”
They’re not losing pitching duels either. They’ve lost their past four games since the All-Star break by a combined score of 39-2. They haven’t scored in 23 consecutive innings. If not for a two-run homer by Eli White in the ninth inning Friday against the Blue Jays, Texas would be looking at 32 innings without a run.
“That’s unacceptable,” Woodward said. “This is an important stretch for a lot of theses guys. Their futures are on the line with our team. I hate to say that, but it’s reality.”
The 37-run differential over a four-game span ties a club record. They lost by 37 combined runs from Sept. 24-27, 2017, which included one game against the Athletics and three against the Astros, according to Elias Sports Bureau.
Not even ace Kyle Gibson could change the momentum Monday against the Tigers. Gibson allowed a season high eight earned runs in five innings. That eight earned runs ties a career high.
The Rangers were held to four hits Monday and have been outhit 45 to 16 in the past four games.
Two of the four games included seven-inning games in a Sunday double-header against the Blue Jays in Buffalo, N.Y.
Woodward acknowledged that his future as the club’s manager is at stake, but dismissed that being his main concern.
“If [my message] gets repetitive, I don’t care,” he said. “It’s their future at stake. It’s mine as a manager, yes, but I couldn’t care less about that, honestly. Their future as everyday players or members of this ball club should mean a lot to them. They all want to play in the big leagues, but they have to earn it.”
He’d like to see his hitters mix it up, if necessary, to snap the scoring rut, including bunting if the defense is leaving third base wide open, or swinging freely early in the count if the right pitch is thrown. Rangers hitters, he said, have been giving away “too many easy outs.”
“We’re not willing do those things, we just keep doing the same thing and we’re out the same way over and over again,” he said. “That drives me insane and it should drive them insane as well. If you’re OK with what just happened, you don’t belong in our organization.”
This story was originally published July 19, 2021 at 9:36 PM.
