Texas Rangers’ road struggles unacceptable regardless of circumstances

Look, we all knew the Texas Rangers would be bad in 2021. That’s not an earth-shattering discovery or anything of that magnitude.

But after going winless in Seattle over the weekend, the team suffered its second road four game sweep in the last two weeks, both against divisional rivals.

There has to be a certain point where the team’s poor play shouldn’t be condoned, despite the fact that an ongoing rebuild is occurring.

Like when the Texas Rangers go 0-12 in their last 12 road contests, which is where the team stands heading into the month of June.

There’s no sugarcoating things: This Texas Rangers road losing streak just won’t cut it.

That 0-12 road losing streak? Chalk it up as a record in the history books, as it ties the longest road slump in franchise history, dating back to the inaugural days of 1972.

More from Nolan Writin'

• Framework for a potential Max Fried trade to the Texas Rangers
• Early 2023 MLB mock draft has Texas Rangers selecting an Ohtani-lite
• 3 Texas Rangers outfield trade targets not named Bryan Reynolds
• Did Jacob deGrom really mean what he said at his Texas Rangers press conference?
• Where do Texas Rangers prospects Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker stand after the DeGrom signing?

I’m sorry, but that’s just unacceptable, regardless of the circumstances. The Texas Rangers could be sitting in first place or in the midst of a complete organizational tear down, and neither scenario would justify an 0-12 streak. That’s just bad baseball.

Ironically, the team they visit on Tuesday, the Colorado Rockies, are one of two teams in MLB that have a worse record than the Rangers (9-20) on the season. However, they’ll be at home for this series.

At least Coors Field should boost the offensive production, as Texas mustered just six runs in the four-game sweep to the Mariners.

And at least the Rockies have some justification for their road struggles because of their home field effect. The Rangers really have none.

Manager Chris Woodward summed up the slump best:

"I don’t want to call it [rock] bottom, but it seems that way. I know our guys are feeling that. It feels like the weight of the world.”"

It’s pretty surreal that at one point this season, we were talking about the Texas Rangers’ inability to win at home, but now Globe Life Field serves as a type of winning oasis for this ballclub.

At the moment, they can’t buy a win on the road. And the team would certainly not like to make this an 0-15 road losing streak, let alone one that could finish at an atrocious 1-14, 2-13 or if we’re lucky, 3-12.

Even more frustrating is the fact that the team is getting solid pitching performances from Jordan Lyles, Mike Foltynewicz and Kolby Allard and ultimately wasting them. These players, along with Dane Dunning (who struggled last time out) and Hyeon-jong Yang, have been asked to step up in the absence of ace Kyle Gibson, and have met the challenge for the most part.

The offense has not, however.

That sweep against the Houston Astros last weekend and the euphoria it brought to Rangers nation is fading quickly behind this embarrassing road stretch.

It’s time to get back on track.