Texas Rangers: Team Loses Home Series Against Minnesota

The Texas Rangers have wrapped up their series against the Minnesota Twins. Unfortunately, they couldn’t win it. On a positive note, they didn’t get swept. However, they’re still a long way from reaching the first place position and they’ve got a lot of work to do.

Starting pitching was okay. Bullpen’s only hiccup was in game two when reliever Anthony Bass had a bit of meltdown. Offense overall was terrible, however game three may have been a wake-up call for them as the offense all of sudden became explosive. It’s only been a month. Plenty of Texas Rangers baseball left.

Martin Perez took the mound for game one. He pitched 6.0 innings, allowing six hits, three runs, and striking out three batters. Unfortunately, the Rangers fell short, giving Perez his third loss this season. Not bad of a performance Perez. His only mishap was in the fifth inning. Just shows he’s still got some room for improvement.

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Andrew Cashner pitched in game two. He went four innings, allowing five hits, two runs, and striking out three batters. To be honest, he was pulled out of the game too early. Bass, who relieved him allowed nine hits, six runs, and struck out nobody, leading to a humiliating 8-1 loss, giving Casher his second loss, dropping him to 0-2. Shame he’s 0-2, but at least his pitching is consistent and better. In any case, he needs to keep it up and he’s one step closer to earning his first win.

Cole Hamels pitched game three. He pitched 6.2 innings, allowing a season-high of seven hits, three runs, and striking out a season-low of one batter, thus earning his second win, improving to 2-0. Hamels is making progress. He’s taking it one game at a time, playing it safe. Very smart strategy by Hamels.

Offense finished 26-for-96. Still terrible. Except we can say that in game three, the bats came alive once again. However, it’s too early to say, “the offense is back!” A total of 20 strikeouts. Perhaps, the number of strikeouts isn’t so bad scoring only three runs in the first two games certainly is. In game three, the batting lineup scored a season-high of 14 runs, the most runs scored in a game since a 15-9 win against the Angels last season. On a positive note, five players had more than one hit in the game. As a matter of fact, the entire lineup registered a hit with the exception of Mike Napoli, who went 0-for-5. Ryan Rua hit a grand slam and Shin-Soo Choo blasted a three-run homer in game three. Great offensive performance in game three, but it’s still too early to be convinced the offense has awoken.

Another great performance by the bullpen. Of course, with the exception of what happened in game two, when Bass came in and didn’t have a good outing. Apart from Bass’ performance, the bullpen allowed only two hits, no runs, and struck out five batters. Keone Kela closed out games one and three. Since his promotion back to Arlington, Kela has been doing great. Perhaps, it’s safe to say Kela learned his lesson and he’s focused. Matt Bush unfortunately didn’t see action in this series. It’s still unclear on who’s the team’s official closer.

Texas is off today. Tomorrow night, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are in town. Nick Martinez steps on the mound for game one. Texas must win this series. Winning the series can possibly allow the jump up to second place in the American League West standings. Sweeping the Angels can be a big help.