Rangers News: More Jack Leiter struggles, Corey Seager and Evan Carter battered and bruised

The Texas Rangers shipped up to Boston with a golden opportunity. After the conclusion of the series against the Kansas City Royals, they had reached .500 for the first time since May 1, and pulled within a game of the Seattle Mariners for the division lead. The Red Sox have been one of the worst teams in the majors this season, but Texas has struggled to the tune of an 8-17 record over the last decade when playing in Fenway Park.

The Rangers opened the game with a golden opportunity. Back-to-back singles by Joc Pederson and Josh Jung to lead off the game to set up a first-and-third situation with no outs. Red Sox starter Sonny Gray struck out Brandon Nimmo but allowed one run on a Wyatt Langford single before striking out Ezequiel Duran and Evan Carter to end the threat. That one run would be the only one that Texas would scratch across, in what ended up as a resounding 10-1 defeat.

The offense's struggles have been well-documented, but in this contest, the inconsistency of the lineup proved to be only a minor subplot when compared to what else went wrong for the Rangers.

Jack Leiter continued a concerning trend that should have the Rangers nervous

The Red Sox jumped right back into the game with two runs in the bottom of the first off of Jack Leiter. Leiter walked the leadoff man, Mickey Gaspar, who was replaced at first by Ceddanne Rafaela on a fielder's choice groundout. Rafaela attempted to steal second, and a poor throw by Kyle Higashioka sailed into center field, allowing Rafaela to advance to third. He'd score on a sac fly by the next batter, Wilyer Abreu, which was then followed by a Willson Contreras homer.

Leiter settled down afterward and kept the game at a 2-1 deficit until the fifth inning. Unfortunately, as has been the case for him all season, that's where things unraveled.

Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News noted the trend after Leiter's previous start on June 6 against the Guardians. Entering last night's start, the former second-overall pick had proven that he and the fifth inning of ballgames didn't agree with each other, as he owned an 11.12 ERA in the fifth versus a 3.47 ERA in all other innings combined.

Against Boston, Leiter came unglued again in the fifth, allowing four runs in total, three of which were earned, raising his fifth-inning ERA to 12.41. It's not just random chance that this has been happening to him, as he entered the night with a 5.82 ERA the second and third time through the order, which typically turns over again around the fifth inning.

The Rangers could be nearing a breaking point with the 26-year-old, who continues to show flashes of brilliance but struggles to sustain even average performance over the long haul.

Rangers face Corey Seager and Evan Carter injury scares

Corey Seager missed 19 games with "lower back inflammation," returning to action on June 5. He's been back for just five games, but now the oft-injured star is dealing with yet another malady.

His lack of hustle on a Brandon Nimmo double during the June 11 finale against the Royals led to an unnecessary collision at home plate with Kansas City catcher Carter Jensen. Seager stayed in the game, but apparently isn't out of the woods.

Per Skip Schumaker, Seager is dealing with pain in his ribs and a sore jaw, which caused him to miss last night's game. He's apparently day-to-day with these new injuries, further highlighting the egregiousness of his lackadaisical trip around the bases.

We'll keep our eyes peeled for any further updates, and our fingers crossed that there's nothing more severe than a couple of bumps and bruises going on.

Speaking of injury-prone players, it should be noted that Evan Carter was replaced in center field ahead of Leiter's disastrous fifth inning. The outfield wizard made an impressive diving catch on a shallow fly ball in the bottom of the fourth, but hit the ground hard in the process.

Per Shawn McFarland, he hurt his oblique on the dive and feared that swinging a bat could exacerbate the injury. He'll be evaluated today, and we'll hope to have more news.

The 23-year-old had really struggled this year, posting a .176/.292/.321 line, but had been on a mini four-game hitting streak, which was snapped by his early removal last night. In addition to potentially turning it on in the box, Carter showed off his electric base-running skills, willing a run across the board himself, in the June 9 series opener against Kansas City.

It would be a shame if this were the start of a breakthrough that ends up derailed by injury. We don't know much for now, but we'll keep you posted as updates come out.

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