Texas Rangers: Why Were They Swept By The Baltimore Orioles?

The Texas Rangers wrap up their series in Baltimore in a way they certainly do not want to. As a result of the sweeping, Texas is on a five-game losing streak for the first since May, tying a season-high. Furthermore, they’re in fourth place in the American League West, sitting 18 games behind Houston.

What started out as a good road trip turned into a nightmare for the Texas Rangers. Texas came into Baltimore coming off a 2-1 series win in Kansas City with some momentum. But since they were swept, perhaps it’s safe to say the momentum has gone cold. The question is what happened to the Rangers? Why were they swept by a mediocre Orioles team?

First and foremost, the way pitching performed is a huge factor in this humiliating sweeping. The Rangers were outscored 31-11 in this series. Recording only 27 strikeouts while allowing a total of 49 hits. When a pitching corps can’t strike out batters and allows hit after hit and run after run, they lead their team down the wrong path.

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What adds insult to injury is each starter suffered the loss, with Cole Hamels suffering his first loss this season and Martin Perez’s three-game winning streak snapping. The fact that in the series finale, Texas blew a 5-1 lead with Hamels still on the mound rubs salt into the wound. Furthermore, 24-inning scoreless streak, the longest by any A.L. starting pitcher this season snaps. Andrew Cashner who pitched game one played effectively and it was only in that game where the pitching isn’t the reason due to the loss due to the lack of run support. In games two and three, pitching was absolutely sloppy, allowing ten runs in back-to-back games. The inability of striking out batters has been a problem all season for Texas and their inability to strike out in this series ultimately led to this humiliating ordeal. Texas is 29th in the league in strikeouts with 669.

The offense has another awful series. The problem is the same. No change. The same thing all season. The bats are silent. Going 26-for-128 is no way going to lead to a respectable series win. And scoring ten runs? Consequently, a ballclub can only go down when they score eleven runs in a four-game series while allowing 31.

Since the end of the All-Star break, the bats are 45-for-196. Shin-Soo Choo extends his hitting streak to three games as does Rougned Odor. Elvis Andrus and Nomar Mazara are each on hit-less streaks, Andrus at four and Mazara at three. Snapping his three-game hitless streak in game three, Carlos Gomez has a hit in two straight games. Adrian Beltre is on a two-game hitting streak and he’s 15 hits away from reaching 3,000. However, Beltre is now tied with Sam Rice for 31st on the Major League Baseball all-time list. Overall, hitting streaks are okay, but they can’t get a player anywhere if no runs and scored. The offense desperately needs to regroup and regain their focus. In any case, they need to get back on track immediately.

Next: Is Yu Darvish's Time In Arlington Running Out?

Overall, the team just wasn’t focused. That’s the main reason they were swept. Regrettably, the lack of focus affected their ability to play good baseball. The Rangers are now on their way to South Florida for a three-game series against the Rays. At any rate, the Rangers need to move on from their humiliating outing in Baltimore and focus on the Rays. Worrying about the negativity in the past affects a club’s ability to focus on the future.

Worrying about the negativity in the past affects a club’s ability to focus on the future. In any case, the Rangers need to be ready.

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