Texas Rangers Punchless At Plate Lately

The Texas Rangers have scored just 12 runs over the last six games, going 2-4 over that stretch.

Author:
Andy Jasner
Apr 8, 2023 9:33 PM EDT

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Texas Rangers

Chicago Cubs

The Texas Rangers looked like the 1927 New York Yankees with 27 runs in their opening two games.

But over the last six games, the Rangers have scuffled offensively with only 12 runs scored.

Texas scored 11 runs in the opener and 16 more in the second game against the Philadelphia Phillies.

They’ve been shut out twice over the last six games, going 2-4 over that span.

On Saturday, the Rangers (4-4) pushed across three runs but fell 10-3 to the Chicago Cubs.

A six-game stretch doesn’t indicate that the trend will last. But it sure is a troubling issue that must be fixed soon.

After all, the Rangers looked to be much improved offensively in those first two games. This roster has been tweaked in such a positive way with talented hitters up and down the lineup.

Marcus Semien is hitting .206, Corey Seager follows with a respectable .276 average and Nathaniel Lowe is at .273. Adolis Garcia (.267), Josh Jung (.267), Robbie Grossman (.185), Mitch Garver (.263), Jonah Heim (.176) and Ezequiel Duran (.143) rounded out the lineup in Saturday’s loss.

Yes, there were five costly errors in the loss. But the lack of run production was evident once again.

The Rangers don’t need to score seven or eight runs every game. Plain and simple, they need more runs. That much is obvious.

“It got a little sloppy out there, and hey, we’ve got to wash this off,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “This is not the baseball we’ve been playing. Five errors, that’s a lot.”

The offense is more concerning.

This team is built to score runs in bunches. Over the course of a 162-game season, the Rangers will pick up the run production.

For now, it’s just not happening.

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