Rangers’ offensive struggles begin, end with their outfield

The reinforcements are coming.

That’s what the Texas Rangers hope, at least.

The likely return of Josh Hamilton on Monday in Baltimore, along with Delino DeShields, who could be back by the end of the week, both outfielders dealing with strained left hamstrings, could be the tonic the Rangers desperately need.

The Rangers’ outfield, most notably center fielder Leonys Martin and right fielder Shin-Soo Choo, has lost its way at the plate and it’s costing the club.

The latest evidence came Sunday in Toronto’s 3-2 victory at Rogers Centre.

With the tying run in Elvis Andrus at third base with one out in the eighth, Martin and Choo struck out swinging on a total of six pitches.

In the sixth, Martin struck out looking with the bases loaded to end the inning after the Rangers had pulled to within 3-1.

But the Texas outfield has been struggling for longer than Sunday. Four Texas outfielders combined to go 4 for 37 with one RBI over the weekend.

It’s been a trend. Since June 15, the foursome of Choo, Martin, Joey Gallo and Ryan Rua have combined to hit .121 with six RBIs. Even more troubling, their collective on-base percentage, which includes Choo being used primarily as a leadoff hitter, is .169.

They’ve combined to strike out 65 times and have drawn just nine walks in the past 13 games.

“At some point you have to dig in and put a ball in play,” Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. “It means we’ve got to reset the trap, if you will, and find a way to push through in those situations. We’ve battled in those situations before, we had some of those early on in the season, and then for a stretch we were really good.”

But lately, the Rangers are coming up empty more times than not with runners on base as they’ve lost eight of their past 10 games.

Martin left 11 runners on base in the three games in Toronto, including six Sunday.

For the entire series, the Rangers’ offense was 2 for 24 with runners in scoring position.

“It’s tough for me when you feel you don’t do anything to help your team with your bat,” a visibly upset Martin said. “It’s a tough moment for me. This game is not an easy game. Everybody wants to do the job, but it happens.”

Hamilton has played center field the past two games for Triple A Round Rock, and Banister said he’s an option there for the Rangers. Hamilton has a history in center for the Rangers, including starting 95 games there in 2012.

But he played center just 13 games in his two injury-abridged seasons with the Angels.

In 10 rehab games with Round Rock, Hamilton is batting .286 with three doubles and five RBIs. He left Sunday’s game early after going 0 for 2, presumably to catch a flight to meet the Rangers in Baltimore.

If DeShields, who went 3 for 4 in his first rehab game Saturday night for Round Rock, is close behind Hamilton, he could also be an option in center, where he’s made 16 starts for the Rangers, the last on June 3.

Both will be given a chance to reclaim their spots in the lineup, meaning either Gallo or Rua, or both, could return to the minors. Choo, who had a similar slump in April and was given two days off before returning with a hot bat, said he doesn’t need a day off right now.

“No, I don’t feel tired,” said Choo, who feels better at the plate than his numbers relate. “Not great, but better than the numbers. Everyone is trying their best. My answer is: That’s baseball.”

This story was originally published June 28, 2015 at 7:07 PM with the headline "Rangers’ offensive struggles begin, end with their outfield."