Rangers Bats "Trying to Do Too Much" as the Offense Stumbles Out of the Gate
The major concern coming off of the season-opening series at Globe Life Field against the Colorado Rockies is undoubtedly the health of Corey Kluber. However, an underrated concern with the 2020 Texas Rangers through three games is the lack of production from an offense that hopes to be explosive.
The talk all off-season was about the Rangers pairing a legitimate ace with a ballyhooed offense. Yet, through three games against a team with concerns on the mound in the Rockies, the Rangers managed just five runs in three games, opening the season with a 1-2 record.
On Friday, the Rangers managed just three hits and three walks, with Rougned Odor’s RBI double in the sixth driving in the lone run of the game. Saturday, Texas managed to rap out eight hits and draw six walks, including three by shortstop Elvis Andrus, but the Rangers left 12 men on base in the 3-2 loss, going 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position, spoiling a solid start by Mike Minor.
Sunday was the coup de grâce for the Rangers’ opening series, as Texas recorded just two runs on five hits.
“We were definitely applying pressure to him (Rockies’ starter Kyle Freeland),” said Nick Solak on Sunday, who went 2-for-4 with an RBI in the loss. “I think we’re close, just haven’t been able to come up with the big hit but we’re really close.”
While Solak has a right to feel positive about the offensive output after Sunday’s loss, a majority of the Rangers’ lineup doesn’t—and shouldn’t. Two Rangers starters have failed to record a hit (Robinson Chirinos and Willie Calhoun continue to sport a .000 batting average), while guys like Danny Santana (.077), Elvis Andrus (.100), Todd Frazier (.125), and Shin-Soo Choo (.111) have gotten off to incredibly slow starts.
Frankly, it’s not good enough. You might be reading this thinking it’s far too early to be frustrated with the offensive performance. In a normal 162-game season, very few should be concerned over one poor offensive series. However, with a 57-game sprint staring the Rangers down and a vital piece of the pitching staff’s health a major unknown right now, Texas has to get it in gear in a hurry, starting Tuesday against the Arizona Diamondbacks, also 1-2.
“I think maybe we’re trying to do too much, maybe myself included at times,” said Joey Gallo, who homered in the loss Sunday. “We have guys on base, guys in scoring position, just not executing.
“Both these games we lost could have gone either way. We could easily be 3-0 if we execute in some of those situations. That includes me. I struck out with a guy on third and less than two outs in the first game. It’s little things like that. In this ballpark, we can’t rely on the home run like we did before, we have to do those jobs. We haven’t done that yet…guys pressing because it’s a little shorter season. You want to get off to a good start.”
The Rangers are off on Monday, giving them a chance to go back to the drawing board.
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