Texas Rangers Take Away Series in Toronto: 3 Takeaways

The Texas Rangers picked up their second series win of the season taking two of three games on the road in Toronto.

After an abysmal start to the season, the Rangers had a rebound of sorts winning two of three against the Toronto Blue Jays in Toronto. By winning the first two games of the series, Texas also put together its first three game win streak after winning the last game of the the previous series against the Athletics.

Here are our three takeaways of the series.

Martin Perez Looks Broken

After what seemed to be a bounce back performance for Martin Perez, he once again had a start he’s like to forget in a 7-2 loss. Perez went only 4 innings in the start giving up 4 earned runs on only 5 hits. Of those 5 hits, 3 were homeruns and he also issued 4 walks. Martin has never been a truly dominant start, but he was always a consistent starter who put forth winnable performances. So far this season, Perez has looked like a shell of his former self. Through 4 starts Perez does sit a 2-2, but his ERA is sky high at 9.82. He lacks command and his fastball looks lifeless at some points.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa Continues To Shine

It’s almost a broken record at this point but Isiah-Kiner Falefa has been a blessing to this Rangers organization. The young infielder continues to be a quality fill-in for their decimated infield. Kiner-Falefa had a hit in all three games of the series against the Blue Jays. He now has hits in 10 of his last 11 games and has been a consistent producer for the offensive. If Kiner-Falefa continues this showing at the plate, currently hitting .271, he may give Jeff Banister some decisions to make when the team is back fully healthy.

The Bullpen Remains Inconsistent

The Texas Rangers bullpen seems a tale of two staffs this season. The inconsistency appeared again in this series against the Blue Jays with two quality performances followed by another bad one. In games one and two of the series, the Rangers bullpen combined to allow just one run in five innings of work. They held leads and played a crucial role in Texas being able to win those two games. Game three was another story. Although Martin Perez did them no favors by going just 4 innings and putting Texas behind early. Tony Barnette furthered the damage by allowing 3 runs (2 earned) in his 2 innings of work which effectively sealed the game.

Next: Texas Rangers: Jose Leclerc Should Be Getting His Shot in the Majors

Texas will look to try and build on the series win as they look to dig themselves out of the hole they’ve found themselves in early this season.

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