ARLINGTON — The Texas Rangers fielded the American League’s best offense last season. It worked pretty well. It led to a World Series trophy and a whole heap of individual and team awards.
Surely, at some point, the Texas bats will return to form. The Rangers hope so, at least, because it hasn’t been pretty otherwise.
Maybe the ninth inning of Saturday’s 8-4 loss to the Cincinnati Reds is the prequel to an eventual eruption. The Rangers began the final frame with exactly one hit and zero runs but scored four times on a Davis Wendzel two-run home run (the first of his career), a solo shot from Corey Seager (his first since April 3) and an RBI double from Josh Smith (his second extra-base hit of the day). Leody Taveras, Nathaniel Lowe and Wyatt Langford each also singled.
Because, outside of that, Saturday was bleak. It’s been like that for a bit now. The Rangers have scored the league’s ninth-fewest runs (45) and posted the league’s 20th-best OPS (.662) since April 13 — a 9-2 loss to the Houston Astros that kickstarted a 6-8 stretch.
Their offense has relied on solo home runs lately, too; it took two from Evan Carter and Marcus Semien to beat the Cincinnati Reds 2-1 on Friday, and of their three runs in Thursday’s loss to the Mariners, two came via solo shots.
But, like starter Andrew Heaney said after the Rangers’ 4-3 loss to Seattle on Thursday, “Solo homers don’t beat you, two-runs can.” The Rangers — who gave up a pair of two-run home runs in Saturday’s loss — can attest to that. Solo home runs can only get a team so far if there’s no one on base, and Texas has the league’s third-worst on-base percentage (.280) since that April 13 loss to Houston. That doesn’t factor in Saturday’s loss to the Reds in which Texas was held to just one hit and one walk by Cincinnati starter Hunter Greene.
Then they erupted in the ninth. Now they just have to keep that up.
Here are four thoughts from the loss.
Worst way to end the day: Rangers starter Michael Lorenzen had thrown 96 pitches and allowed three earned runs through six innings. The Rangers, despite having Jose Ureña warmed up in the bullpen, opted to send Lorenzen out to start the seventh.
He did not record an out and left with Texas in a 5-0 hole.
Lorenzen hit Tyler Stephenson with a pitch to lead off the inning, then threw a belt-high fastball to Jonathan India, who turned on it for a two-run home run. India — who began the day with a .182 batting average — went 3 for 3 with a home run, two singles and four RBIs vs. Lorenzen.
Rangers manager Bruce Bochy replaced Lorenzen with Ureña after India’s home run. Ureña let up a single to Nick Martini and a two-run home run to Will Benson to give the Reds a 7-0 lead.
Best broken habit: Lorenzen retired the Cincinnati side — and struck out the first two batters he faced at Globe Life Field this season — on 10 pitches.
Routine as it seemed, quick starts just haven’t been in the cards for Texas starting pitchers recently. Rangers starters had allowed at least one first-inning run in each of the team’s previous five games prior to Saturday. The streak began last Sunday against the Atlanta Braves when Marcell Ozuna drilled a three-run home run off Lorenzen in the first inning at Truist Park. It’s only right that he was the one to snap the routine.
The Reds scored twice in the second inning when Lorenzen went hit by pitch, walk, single, single to begin the frame, but a 4-6-3 double play salvaged what could’ve been a significantly more damaging inning. At least it wasn’t the first, either.
The habit that won’t relent: Umpires vs. Wyatt Langford. The Rangers’ 22-year-old rookie has had more pitches outside the zone called strikes (21) than any other batter in baseball this season. Los Angeles Dodgers all-world shortstop Mookie Betts ranks second with 19 outside-the-zone called strikes. Two were tacked onto Langford’s ledger Saturday as part of a second-inning strikeout.
Home plate umpire Brian O’Nora ruled that a first-pitch fastball and a fourth-pitch slider from Greene were strikes, though both were away and out of the zone. Langford struck out swinging on a well-placed 98 mph fastball in the low corner of the zone to end the seven-pitch at bat.
“He’s definitely had some balls called strikes on him,” Bochy said. “It’s hard to explain why, because he has a good eye at the plate, he has good discipline. You want him to stay with his approach, and don’t change it because of that.”
The utility gift that keeps on giving: Shocker, it’s Josh Smith, who’s transitioned from part-time visitor to full-time property owner in the postgame thoughts roundup. He broke up Greene’s no-hit bid in the fifth inning with his eighth double of the season and extended his on-base streak to 15 games in the process. He recorded his ninth double four innings later to score Lowe and plate the Rangers’ fourth run of the frame.
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