All-Star Break Comes at 'Good Time' for Slumping Texas Rangers

The All-Star break is here and it couldn’t come soon enough for the sliding Texas Rangers.

Despite going into the four-day hiatus leading the American League West, the Rangers are in a bad way. A 3-8 stretch, including a 2-4 road trip that ended with Sunday’s 7-2 loss to the last-place Washington Nationals, is bad enough.

“You take where we’re at the break,” manager Bruce Bochy said in Washington. “Do we like how it’s gone the last couple weeks? No. This is not how we want to finish.”

Go back to June 6 when the Rangers were 40-20, and it’s 12-19 since. What once was a lead of 6.5 game in the division is down to 2.0 games over the Houston Astros.

The Rangers (52-39) are grinding. At least that was the prevailing sentiment after the latest setback which ended a run of 17 games without a day off.

“There’s challenges during the course of a season. Every club goes through them,” Bochy said. “This was not going to be a walk through the park or anything. Nobody thought like that. There’s ebbs and flows of a season, and this is what we’re going to have to deal with.

“What’s important is how we handle it. I will say the break has probably come at a good time. This has been a tough part of the schedule. We’ve hit in grind here with all the games.”

And while the break is a chance to recharge the batteries, a large chunk of the roster will be busy in Seattle. The Rangers are sending six to Midsummer Classic, with Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, Jonah Heim, Josh Jung and Adolis García all starting for the AL squad. Texas ace Nathan Eovaldi could be the starting pitcher.

So many of the Rangers that could probably use a respite won’t be getting one. Instead, they’re flying across the country and will be engaged in whirlwind of festivities on top of the actual All-Star Game. García is also competing in Monday’s Home Run Derby.

“Top to bottom, I think everyone can use a couple of days off,” said Dane Dunning, who took the loss Sunday to drop to 8-2.

The season restarts Friday, as the Rangers open a nine-game, 10-day homestand against the Cleveland Guardians. The Tampa Bay Rays and Los Angeles Dodgers are also coming to Globe Life Field.

Those three clubs are currently leading their respective divisions. The road ahead won’t be easy, especially for a club slumping.

Perhaps the Rangers are able to recapture the winning formula that led to a surprising first half, regardless of the struggles of the past few weeks. That can’t come soon enough, either.

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