Twins get last kick at limping Rangers in first-half finale
The Texas Rangers’ futility over much of the past two weeks was on display Sunday at Globe Life Park.
The Minnesota Twins, with the worst record in the American League, took three of four games against the Rangers with an emphatic 15-5 win to close out the first half. The Rangers closed the first half losing seven of their last nine.
Any time you lose like this it looks ugly.
Jeff Banister
Starter A.J. Griffin ran into trouble early in the fifth but had a chance to escape a big inning. Instead, a walk to Kennys Vargas loaded the bases for Max Kepler, who ripped a grand slam to right field on a 1-0 changeup. It gave the Twins a 6-0 lead and effectively put an end to Griffin’s day.
“You kind of pick your poison right there,” said Griffin, who was ahead of Vargas 1-2 in the count before throwing three consecutive balls to load the bases. “We did let him get away, but at the same time he’s just been bashing the ball right now. Can’t really second-guess yourself too much. Just kind of erase it.”
That would be wise for the Rangers, who have seen their 10-game lead on the Houston Astros in the AL West shrink to 5 1/2 games after dropping nine of their past 12.
“We’ve done exceptionally well at washing things off and moving on,” manager Jeff Banister said. “There are points in the season when they don’t look so well, they don’t feel so well, today capped all that off. Hopefully, that’s the bottom.”
The Twins outscored the Rangers 38-18 in the four-game series and 62-30 to win five of the seven games.
The Rangers’ bullpen was tagged for nine runs (seven earned) in four innings. Cesar Ramos took the brunt with five runs allowed on five hits, including two homers.
“We didn’t pitch it well enough. That’s really the bottom line,” Banister said of Griffin, who allowed six runs on nine hits and a walk in five innings. “He’s a major league pitcher ... you still have to be able to pitch and make pitches even when you’re tired.”
Darvish’s rehab
Right-hander Yu Darvish allowed three earned runs on five hits, including two doubles and a two-run homer for Double A Frisco on Sunday evening.
It was Darvish’s second rehab start. He threw 72 pitches, including 47 strikes. Darvish is scheduled to throw a bullpen session Wednesday. It will then be determined whether he’s ready to return to the Rangers or needs another rehab outing.
Reliever Keone Kela also threw a scoreless inning for Frisco for the second consecutive night.
The Rangers wanted to see how Kela, who has been on the disabled list with bone spurs in his right arm, responded after pitching in back-to-back games. Kela expects to rejoin the Rangers on Friday in Chicago.
Work, rest, work
The Rangers concluded a stretch of 37 games in 38 days Sunday that included 20 away games.
A postponed rainout contributed to the long stretch, but it doesn’t get a whole lot easier after the All-Star break.
They begin the second half with a nine-game road trip to Chicago, Anaheim and Kansas City and play 17 of their first 24 games on the road.
Texas finally stays home for a couple of long stretches, with 15 home games in the second half of August. After one final 10-game trip to Seattle, Anaheim and Houston in early September, the Rangers finish with 12 of 15 at home.
“We’ve been on a long stretch right now with only one day off,” said Griffin, who earned his first loss of the season. “It’s not a good excuse by any means, but it does kind of catch up to you a little bit.”
Stefan Stevenson: 817-390-7760, @StevensonFWST
This story was originally published July 10, 2016 at 7:55 PM with the headline "Twins get last kick at limping Rangers in first-half finale."