Rangers' offensive inconsistency has affected some pitchers more than others

The Texas Rangers had a successful road trip through their first two stops, winning series against both the much improved Royals as well as the A's. But the final stop in Colorado has proven to be difficult. The offense, which has largely been inconsistent, has had three down days in a row. Jon Gray and Andrew Heaney both had quality starts wasted by a lack of run production. This is a trend that seems to affect these two disproportionately.

The Rangers were held to two runs during Gray's start on Friday night and three runs on Saturday night during Heaney's start. The offense is averaging 4.98 runs per game on the season. To the eye, lately, Gray and Heaney are often falling victim to a lack of run support from the offense.

For Heaney, the lack of run support has truly bitten him bad. The Rangers offense has scored a total of 22 runs in his eight starts so far (2.75 runs per game). That's a full two runs per game less than the season average. Fortunately, the left-hander has only allowed four runs over his last three starts and his command has been sharp. He's recorded 17 strikeouts and allowed zero walks during that same span.

As for Gray, it hasn't been quite to the same degree as Heaney, but the right-hander isn't getting what he needs from the offense. The Rangers offense has scored 33 runs over his nine starts, or 3.67 runs per game. That is still well over a run less per game lower than their average. Since his rough first outing against the Cubs, Gray has been incredible, which is what makes his lack of run support so disappointing. Over his last eight starts, he's only allowed seven runs. His control has greatly improved from his first start -- he's got a 4.1 K/BB ratio.

Looking into the other starters who have made at least three starts, Eovaldi and Lorenzen also have been receiving below-average run support. Eovaldi is getting 3.71 runs per game from the offense and Lorenzen is getting 3.2. These two have been a little bit less noticeable since Eovaldi hasn't pitched in 10 days and Lorenzen got a late start to the season. Gray and Heaney have been the only two starters to make all of their scheduled starts this season.

While the bulk of the rotation seems to be suffering from this, a couple starters have gotten it in abundance. Dane Dunning has received 6.57 runs per game from the offense -- over a run and a half over the season average. Though Cody Bradford has been out for a little while now, he was getting a staggering 9 runs per game through his first few starts. He only made three before getting injured, but in two of them the Rangers scored 10 runs or more.

Texas' offensive inconsistency has certainly affected some parts of the rotation more than others, which has led to wasting many great starts early in the season. Though the Rangers are expected to get back a few impact position players hopefully soon, this trend can't be ignored regardless of who is present, because injuries have hampered their run scoring all season long.