Texas Rangers Weekly Report 11: A (short) long road again

Jun 15, 2021; Houston, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers third baseman Brock Holt (16) blows a bubble before the game against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 15, 2021; Houston, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers third baseman Brock Holt (16) blows a bubble before the game against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Texas Rangers had a very rough trip out west (again) as they started out losing two of three to the World Series Champion LA Dodgers.

They didn’t didn’t do much better returning to the Lone Star State, as they lost Tuesday night against the Astros on a walk-off grand slam. The Rangers also lost on Wednesday night, giving up 5 homers to the Astros.

Overall, the Rangers are are 1-19 in their last 20 road games. Brutal.

On the bright side of things this week, Eli White got his first two home runs of his career Wednesday against the Astros. White seems to be the hottest bat in the Rangers’ lineup at the moment.

Texas Rangers Weekly Report: Who’s Hot

Cole Winn

Cole Winn had an amazing comeback outing on Tuesday night after a bad start. Winn pitched six innings and allowed 2 hits, 0 earned runs, and had 5 K’s in 6 innings.

One thing scouts look for in a pitcher as they develop is if they can bounce back from a bad outing and Winn has proven he can do that.

Josh Jung

Josh Jung made his Double-A debut Tuesday night in Frisco after having an injury keep him out early on in the season. Jung’s first hit of the night was a blooper to left field for a single.

Expect Jung to stay down in Minors for the remainder of the season as he gets stronger coming off the injury. If he starts a very good hitting streak, he might force the Texas Rangers to promote him to majors after the trade deadline.

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Kyle Gibson

Do you remember when people were trying to get Doge Coin’s value to the moon? Well, Kyle Gibson’s trade value is “skyrocketing” to the moon after Tuesday’s game in Houston.

In six innings, he only allowed a run and a hit and stuck out three batters. If no playoff teams are interested in Gibson at the deadline, I would be shocked. An All-Star appearance could also be on the horizon for a pitcher with one of the top ERAs in the American League (2.09).

Adolis Garcia 

Adolis Garcia is starting to heat up behind the plate again. Garcia has had 5 hits in three games. Garcia has feasted on the Astros this season (much to our delight) and hopefully with this hitting streak, we get some home runs as well.

Texas Rangers Weekly Report: Who’s Not Hot

Josh Sborz

Josh Sborz had one job on Tuesday night and that was to come in the ninth inning and get three outs. He didn’t do that and Carlos Correa hit a game-tying home run to send it to extra innings.

It’s a good thing Ian Kennedy is back (until he gets traded, of course).

Demarcus Evans

Demarcus Evans certainly didn’t help out the Rangers on Tuesday night as he gave up the walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the tenth inning in Houston. He also couldn’t find the strike zone most of that outing, but when he did, it wasn’t good.

Mike Foltynewicz

The Mike Foltynewicz experiment hasn’t gone well this season save for a few starts. Foltynewicz had a terrible outing in Los Angeles. Luckily, the Rangers didn’t spend too much on his one-year deal so they can part ways with the veteran at end of the season.

Thoughts for the upcoming week

Chris Woodward looks like he’s getting to the end of his rope with losing based on his press conference Tuesday night. This is the first time in a while the media has seen Woodward have a different attitude other than a generally optimistic one, even after a loss.

The Rangers closers have to come in and close out games. Literally, the closer’s job is to come in and get three outs in the ninth inning. Fortunately, Ian Kennedy is back, but once he’s gone after the trade deadline, this team will need to find a solution late in games.

Also, the Rangers need to get as many wins against Athletics as possible if they want to climb out of the basement of the AL West division.

Texas Rangers Upcoming Schedule

June 18-20 home vs Minnesota Twins

June 21-24 home vs Oakland Athletics