Rangers' fans bamboozled as offense stalls during first home series of season

The Texas Rangers were looking like they would shock a few people after a positive offensive outburst during the first six games of the regular season. However, it changed when the team made it back home to Globe Life Field and forgot how to hit the ball.

Dropping the first two games against the Reds, the Rangers have managed to score just three runs, getting shutout by Rhett Lowder and the Cincinnati bullpen on Saturday.

Needless to say, it's opening up old wounds for Rangers' fans from the past two years.

Rangers' offensive lull hits worse of early season

The Friday matchup wasn't that bad, losing 5-3 and fighting back a couple of times. That loss was on the bullpen, specfically Chris Martin who surrendered the game-winning two-run home run in the ninth inning that sealed the Reds' victory.

It was the Saturday performance that is haunting fans. Getting held to three, the Rangers didn't get a runner past third base going just 0-for-2 with runners in scoring position and 1-for-12 with any runner on base.

Seems the offense has struggled over the last two games to get anything going. What we are missing is the patient at-bats, drawing walks and leaning more toward contact over power that we saw during the Rangers' first road trips in Philadelphia and Baltimore.

Focusing on at least partly positive news, Texas did have a lot of hard-hit balls on Saturday, managing seven hits with exit velocities 97 mph or above. Unfortunately, five of seven ended in outs.

We can say that all we want but exit velos that turn into outs don't win ballgames. They need to get back to the energy we saw during spring training and during the team's 4-2 start.

Changes need to be made, regardless of matchups

Biggest hamper to start the season has been a couple of players that Texas was hoping to bounce back this year but has yet to find any sort of success to kick off the year.

Of course, I am talking about Joc Pederson and Josh Jung, who have managed just two hits among them in the first eight games. Jung accounts for both of those hits as Pederson remains hitless to start the year at 0-for-14.

Texas might have a bit more leeway to stick with the 28-year-old Jung as he provides above-average defense at third base and is showing more signs of getting it together at the plate.

It's Pederson where the patience is slowly fading and it showcased the most on Saturday. In the ninth inning, Skip Schumaker decided to keep Pederson in the game during a 2-0 deficit, no outs and tying run at the plate. On the third pitch of the at-bat, Pederson grounded into a double play to immediately erase any late momentum.

This is where Schumaker seems to be relying on matchups over recent success. While Pederson is still hitless, Andrew McCutchen is hitting .375 to start the year and even though it was against a right-hander would've been a better option in that situation.