Texas Rangers: Scott Baker victim of bad baseball

Texas Rangers pitcher Scott Baker has seen and been part of some of the worst moments with the team the season. Due largely to the horrible and injuries to the starting pitching this year Baker has been used a lot as a long reliever.

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In that role he was victim to an odd stat where he went 20 games in a row without picking up a win. It has mainly been because by the time he enters a game team is already losing. There were several times he entered a game and the Rangers were down 8 or more runs. The theme has been lose and lose big for the Texas Rangers. What does all of that mean exactly?

Here’s a look at his stats

2-0 record over 22 starts/66.0 innings
5.45 ERA
44 strikeouts
12 walks
3 intentional walks
10 home runs
.263 opposing batters average
1.00 WHIP
0.33 Ground ball to fly ball out ratio

Along with his relief appearances the Texas Rangers have also utilized him 5 times this season in the starter role. He recently made a start against the Kansas City Royals where he finally snapped his 20 game streak of not picking up a win.

During that game he only went 5.0 innings (71 pitches, 51 strikes), but he only allowed 1 hit and 1 earned run. He didn’t go very deep in the game mainly because he wasn’t schedule to go that far anyways. He commented after the game about his outing.

"“I feel good,” Baker said. “I think that outing allowed me to extend myself a little more, and it’s tough not throwing that amount of pitches and that amount of innings for basically a month, so it’s hard to keep that endurance. But you do the best you can. I felt good and I felt good afterward.” (Aaron Leibowitz – MLB.com)"

I think it’s easy to say that it has been tough for Baker this season, but he’s pitched and handled himself very well this season. Actually, it’s been pretty impressive what he’s been able to do this season.

Also, to give him more credit, he’s continued to improve this season. For the month of August he’s picked up 2 wins over 5 games/11.0 IP by only allowing 9 hits and 3 earned runs. He’s been very solid and reliable for a team where neither of those terms fit.

Scott Baker will get another start tonight as the Rangers continue to cling to hopes of winning the Lone Star Series. If the Astros win tonight, the Silver Boot will move the Houston. Baker should have a solid outing tonight against a Houston team that tends to either show up or not all. He should pitch deeper in tonight’s game, but maybe not past the 6th inning or 80 pitches.

First pitch is at 7:05 pm CT

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