I guess the joke’s on me for getting my hopes up. The Rangers are playing bad baseball again, and I’m really sad about it.
Following last weekend’s disaster-fest in Seattle, Texas kicked off its next stretch of games with two big wins over the Yankees, a team directly in front of them in the standings. I was in attendance for the second of those wins, and it was a ton of fun. Here’s a wonderful video—taken by my friend Zion Trammell—of Rowdy Tellez, of all people, coming up with a big hit in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Things were looking up until, once again, the bottom fell out. The offense couldn’t hit to save its life, and the pitching—while still good enough to win for pretty much any other team in the league—wasn’t enough to overcome the lack of run support. Four consecutive losses followed, including three demoralizing defeats at the hands of the Phillies over this past weekend.
Chris Young and the front office bet on the offense the team had employed all season to turn it around. They did this by not acquiring any additional weapons to help out the lineup at the trade deadline. At the time, the move was head-scratching, but it was defensible given that the prices for impact bats were probably a bit too steep. Now, with the offense floundering once again, I’m left shaking my head at what could’ve been.
Long story short, the offense just doesn’t function properly, and for no apparent reason. There are good players on this team who have hit well before, but the second they stepped foot in the batter’s box at the beginning of the regular season in a Rangers uniform, all that skill seemed to be washed away. Even stars like Corey Seager haven’t been immune to the terrible vibes.
Without a functioning offense, this team can’t go anywhere. Sure, the pitching staff is fantastic, with Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi being legitimate candidates to win the Cy Young Award at the end of the season. The bullpen, while erratic at times, has been more than good enough. It’s just the offense, and it always has been.
The Rangers’ ability to score runs was the sole reason they won the World Series in 2023. Texas led the American League in runs scored (881), batting average (.263), and OPS (.790). In comparison to this year’s statistics, one might cry. With 43 games to go, those numbers have cratered—482 runs scored, a .232 batting average, and a .676 OPS. That’s the story right there. Nothing else needs to be said.
Texas plays the Diamondbacks tonight, the team it beat in the World Series two years ago, in what might be one of the more crucial series of the season. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that if they lose this series, they might as well pack it up. The potential for a playoff appearance is currently slipping through their fingers. Can they stop it?