Identity Crisis Playing Role in Rangers' Losing Streak
With another loss to the Seattle Mariners, the Texas Rangers are on the verge of tying a franchise record they'd rather keep in the past.
Saturday's 3-2 defeat not only extended the Rangers' current losing streak to five games, but it was also the 11th straight loss on the road, which is just one game shy of the franchise record set in 2003.
Rangers manager Chris Woodward is pretty good about keeping his emotions in check. But when he met with the media via Zoom after Saturday night's loss, he was visibly frustrated with his team's performance, specifically in one area.
"We've gotta get better offensively. That's just the bottom line," Woodward said. "The only thing I get frustrated [about] is when we get exposed by the same things, both individually speaking and as a team.
"You shouldn't be able to get exposed by the same pitches or the same sequences of pitches. That's something we've gotta get better at. I know we have young hitters, but those are things we've gotta improve on."
Regarding improvement, Chris Woodward specifically mentioned a lack of pressure from the plate. The mantra that the Rangers skipper has implemented revolves around applying pressure on the opponent, and most people would think that refers to the group's aggressive baserunning.
On the contrary, it applies to all facets of the game: pitchers going after hitters, hitters working counts but being aggressive on pitches with which they can do damage.
"That's something we pride ourselves on, and we've been decent at all year," Woodward explained. "Right now, it seems like everyone but Adolis [García] is in a little bit of a funk. That's gonna happen at times, unfortunately. We've still gotta do enough to win a game, especially when our pitching is keeping us in games."
For the second straight start, Mike Foltynewicz gave the Rangers seven innings, which is something the team hasn't seen a lot of this season.
"He pitched well," Woodward said. "From the beginning, I saw a lot of 96-97 on the board. That's a really good sign. ... He didn't have a ton of punchouts, but that just shows you how good his stuff is. He was getting really weak contact."
Foltynewicz had only given up one run through his first six innings on Saturday, but Seattle's J.P. Crawford broke a 1-1 tie with a solo home run to lead off the seventh inning, which was one of the few mistakes Foltynewicz made on the night.
However, a pitcher should not be punished for a seven-inning, two-run performance. Most of the time, that should be good enough to win a ballgame. But the Rangers offense has not been able to support the pitching staff in this series in Seattle, scoring only four runs in three games.
Chris Woodward talked about how the struggles can be contagious throughout a lineup. One guy starts pressing while trying to make something happen. All of a sudden, a few guys are pressing and not sticking to the process that helped the Rangers remain competitive in so many games this season.
The issues are not being ignored in the clubhouse. The Rangers have been a team that doesn't shy away from having open dialogue. It's an integral part of their identity. Now, they need to get back to who they are at the plate.
"We talk about a lot of things on a daily [basis] as a team," Woodward said. "It's just a matter of applying a little bit more pressure early in games and getting a lead, allowing our pitchers a little bit of wiggle room to make a few mistakes here and there.
"Hopefully," Woodward added, "we come out tomorrow and score three in the first."
The Rangers are now a season-worst 10 games under .500 at 22-32. They'll look to snap a rather embarrassing losing skid on Sunday afternoon in Seattle. Texas will send out Korean left-hander Hyeon-jong Yang (0-2, 5.47 ERA) to face off with Japanese southpaw Yusei Kikuchi (2-3, 4.02 ERA).
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