Texas Rangers June 20 Week in Review: Who’s Hot, Who’s Not

Jun 19, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Texas Rangers first baseman Mitch  Moreland (18) hits a two run single against the Chicago White Sox in the ninth inning at U.S Cellular Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

The Texas Rangers have continued their strong play as they continue to catch up to the Houston Astros. The Rangers are just 2.5 games behind the Astros, 2 games ahead of the Los Angeles Angels, 6 games ahead of the Seattle Mariners, and 9 games ahead of the Oakland Athletics. There was not much movement this week in the division as the Seattle Mariners were the only team not to win 6 of their last 10 games, having won 5 of 10, and the Rangers remain just 0.5 games behind for a Wild Card spot.

The team won five of their seven games this week, with the a loss coming to the Minnesota Twins and a 0-1 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers that ended on a balk in the ninth. More impressively, the Rangers won two out of three during their Three Aces in Three Days stretch. They picked up the win against Clayton Kershaw, a loss to Zack Greinke that ended with the balk, and a win last night over Chris Sale. Even though Sale looked great against the Rangers, the team Never Ever Quit and came up with two runs in the ninth off a Mitch Moreland hit as seen in the picture above.

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Looking ahead to the week, the Rangers will finish the series against the Chicago White Sox, come home for a series against the Oakland Athletics, then will end the week by travelling north of the border for a series against the Toronto Blue Jays. The series everyone is looking forward to against the Houston Astros is still a bit away, as Rangers won’t travel to Houston until July 17th for the first series after the All-Star Break.

So, which players were a crucial part of the Texas Rangers success last week? Which players struggled, as the Rangers were able to overcome their issues and win anyway? Let’s take a look back at the week that was for the Rangers, as we see which players were hot, and which were not.

Let us begin with those who struggled last week.

Next: Martin Slows

Jun 13, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Minnesota Twins shortstop

(9) turns a double play as Texas Rangers center fielder Leonys  Martin (2) slides into second base during the second inning at Globe Life Park in Arlington. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

3. Leonys Martin

After being one of the hottest hitters to start June, Martin has finally started to slow down. After struggling early in the season, Martin is set in center field after the injuries to both Josh Hamilton and Delino DeShields. Martin has played great defense, having made just one error in 162 chances over 482.2 innings.

This week, however, Martin managed to hit just .125/.125/.250 in 24 at-bats. Matin hit one home run and drove in two runs while scoring just one himself. Although he has struggled, Martin still deserves a chance at the top of the lineup. The current leadoff hitter Shin-Soo Choo hit .231/.310/.269 so he has been more successful getting on base all though he doesn’t possess top speed like Martin has.

Another candidate for this Number 3 spot was Joey Gallo, who has hit .130/.286/.522 in 26 ABs this week. Gallo had impressive power, hitting three home runs and driving in five runs. The most impressive part of the week for Gallo was his five walks which helped lead to his high On-Base Percentage compared to his average. The downside of Gallo’s week was another week of strikeouts. Gallo struck out 12 times in his 23 ABs and is not sitting at a 40.9% strikeout percentage in his time in the majors.

Next: Kela struggles

Jun 17, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Texas Rangers relief pitcher Keone  Kela (50) throws the ball in the ninth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. The Rangers won 5-3. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

2. Keone Kela

Kela has had a good rookie season thus far, with a 4-4 record and a 2.48 ERA in 29 innings over 32 games. Kela has one save and five holds and has shown better control than he did with the Frisco RoughRiders in 2014. With the RoughRiders, Kela had a 12.8 K/9 but also had a 6.28 BB/9 in 38.2 innings. In 2015, Kela has decreased his walk rate to 3.10 BB/9 but has also seen his strikeout rate drop to 8.07 K/9.

This past week, Kela gave up one run over 2.2 innings. He has give up just one hit, three walks, and struck out three. While none of this seems particularly bad, the balk that Kela had against the Rangers caused him to take the loss. The loss was the third for the month by Kela and he has a 5.06 ERA in his 5.1 innings.

Kela was not the only member of the bullpen to struggle this week as Anthony Bass gave up four runs in 1.2 innings. While he gave up more runs, he did so in a game that the Rangers won 11-7 so it did not have as much of an impact on the game as Kela’s performance. Bass raised his ERA to 4.71 in 36.1 innings.

Next: Problems continue for Andrus

Jun 18, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman

(5) tags out Texas Rangers shortstop Elvis  Andrus (1) at third base to end the seventh inning at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers defeated the Rangers 1-0. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

1. Elvis Andrus

With the injury to DeShields, Andrus has gotten a chance to get back into the two-hole in the lineup but has struggled. Andrus has hit .231/.231/.231 with six hits in 26 ABs will all six hits going for a single. He did not drive in any runs but scored one himself. Andrus also did not manage to draw any walks but struck out five times.

June has been the best month in 2015 for Andrus as he has hit .250/.313/.333 in the first 17 games of the month. Andrus has struggled hitting second in the lineup. This lineup and outfield is in need of DeShields to return quickly so Andrus can moved back to the 5th or 6th hole where he has had more success.

And now, a look at who has been hot in the past week.

Next: Fielder returns to power

Jun 17, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Texas Rangers second baseman Rougned  Odor (12) makes the tag as Los Angeles Dodgers left fielder

(28) is out at second base in the first inning of the game at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

2. Rougned Odor

Odor started off the season slow and was sent down to Round Rock to get back on track. He was hitting .144/.252/.233 before he was sent down where he caught fire, hitting .352/.426/.639 with five home runs. Since being called up he has hit .455/.500/.455 with four runs batted in and has started to play like the player the Rangers wanted to see at the beginning of the season. With the second base position being a weakness for the team all season, the will need to rely on Odor to turn it into a position of strength.

Odor returned to the team in brilliant fashion, going 3-for-3 in his first game with two runs batted in. Odor batted second in the 5-3 win over the Dodgers on Wednesday and responded with a 1-for-3 performance and also reached base on a hit by pitch. With DeShields out, Odor remains an option along with Martin to slide into the second spot if Andrus doesn’t work out.

Next: Starters providing support

Jun 18, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA: Texas Rangers starter Anthony  Ranaudo (46) delivers a pitch against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

1. Starting Rotation

The starting rotation had a great week with two starters throwing more than 6 innings of shutout baseball, even though just one got the win. Yovani Gallardo pitched 7.0 innings, giving up just four hits without allowing a run. Anthony Ranaudo had a terrific spot start for the team, pitching 6.2 innings and giving up just five hits without giving up a run although got a no decision for his performance.

Chi Chi Gonzalez was just one inning away from his second complete game shutout but gave up two runs in the ninth which tied the game at two. The Rangers ended up winning the game in the bottom of the ninth thanks to a Robinson Chirinos walk-off home run.

Colby Lewis picked up the win in his two starts, finishing with 15.0 innings pitched in which he gave up a total of just four runs. Lewis struck out 13 batters while giving up just one walk and held hitters to a .224 average. Lewis has had inconsistent play this year and weeks like this are great for his confidence.

Both Nick Martinez and Wandy Rodriguez had good, not great, weeks but both managed to pitch in wins for the Rangers. Martinez gave up three runs but across seven innings in the Rangers win over the Twins. Rodriguez ended the streak of consecutive Quality Starts but managed to pick up the win with 5.1 innings of work, giving up 9 hits and three earned runs to the Dodgers.

Next: Top Minor League Performances of the Week