Rangers Bats Can't Back Solid Pitching For Second Consecutive Night

Taylor Hearn and Mike Foltynewicz both turned in solid starts in the first two games of the Texas Rangers' series against the Seattle Mariners, but the offense has struggled in each of those games.

Author:
Chris Halicke
Aug 18, 2021 11:58 PM EDT

ARLINGTON, Texas — For the second night in a row, the Texas Rangers lost to the Seattle Mariners by a score of 3-1. And for the second night in a row, the Rangers offense struggled to come through in key situations.

The lineup didn't struggle as badly as they did on Tuesday night, but the team still went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base. The struggles were highlighted in the sixth inning when Isiah Kiner-Falefa led off the frame with a double off the wall in left field, but the trio of Adolis García, DJ Peters and Yohel Pozo failed to drive him in, or even advance him to third base.

"We've gotta find a way to get that guy to third base and score," said Rangers manager Chris Woodward. "We've gotta be ballplayers in that [situation]. Get that guy to third base and get him in. That's something you learn in high school. Those are things we need to do, especially if we're not going to outslug everybody."

Rangers starter Mike Foltynewicz continued a solid streak of pitching, recording his third consecutive quality start. He pitched six innings on Wednesday night, with the only blemish coming from a two-run home run off the bat of Kyle Seager in the first inning.

Foltynewicz is just one in a long line of Rangers pitchers to give up a home run to Seager. His homer on Wednesday night was the 37th of his career against the Rangers, tying Jason Giambi for the fourth-most since the Rangers moved to Arlington in 1972.

The most positive takeaway from Foltynewicz's outing was the ability to keep his emotions in check. Throughout the season, Foltynewicz has become quite emotional on the mound after giving up a home run or not getting a called strike on a pitch in the zone.

"He was frustrated at times too, and I was proud of him," Woodward said. "He's worked really hard on that. He's talked about it openly. There's a couple pitches he wanted to get and didn't, but he kept competing. That's something we've been talking to him about a lot. He's been pitching well."

The Rangers (42-78) and Mariners (65-56) will wrap up their season series on Thursday afternoon at Globe Life Field. Right-hander Spencer Howard (0-3, 5.61 ERA) will take the ball for Texas, facing off with Seattle's Chris Flexen (10-5, 3.78 ERA).