ARLINGTON, Texas — The Texas Rangers' freefall is in full effect with no signs of stopping after a quick two-game sweep at the hands of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
After a demoralizing extra-innings loss on Monday, the Rangers dropped Tuesday’s game 6-3 and now find themselves only half a game up on Houston and one game up on Seattle in the American League West standings.
This is not the first time they’ve seen their division league nearly evaporate this month—it was down to a half-game at the start of August—but now they have two teams to worry about instead of one.
Brice Paterik of the Locked On Rangers podcast started his latest episode by saying, “The Texas Rangers are on a massive losing streak, and it feels like everything is going wrong.”
The Rangers started August in good shape. They won 12 of 14 and looked to be cruising toward the division title. But now, they’re wondering what went wrong after losing their sixth game in a row.
On Monday night, a late decision doomed them, and they lost a game they were an out away from winning in extra innings. They also wasted a gem of an outing from starter Jordan Montgomery, who pitched eight scoreless innings.
On Tuesday, one culprit was pitching. Starter Jon Gray gave up five runs (four earned) in only four innings. The other was the offense taking too long to wake up. They scored three runs, but it wasn’t enough to win, resulting in their sixth loss in a row.
Manager Bruce Bochy said after Tuesday’s game, “When you get to this part of the season now, these are meaningful games. Our play last homestand that's not gonna work. We just didn't play good baseball.” He added, “We didn't think this would be easy, and we knew we would be in a race, and that's what we're in right now.”
Still, Bochy thinks his squad can turn things around. “This team's gonna get [back] on track.”
The Rangers are on the road until September 1, and after that, they have a three-game set with Houston beginning September 4. Then they end the season with two series against Seattle—one at home, and they finish the regular season on the road first against the Los Angeles Angels and the Mariners in Seattle.
It’s a tough road ahead for the Rangers, who have faltered at the wrong time. Their destiny is in their hands, but if they keep playing like this, it’s possible those series against Seattle at the end of September might not matter.
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