Time for Texas Rangers to Panic?

It’s probably time for the Texas Rangers to panic.

If they haven’t done so already.

Bringing back Nathan Eovaldi without a rehab start feels like desperate move, especially how poorly the club has played for three weeks. The same goes for possibly calling up top prospect Evan Carter, even before apparent injury to Adolis García on Wednesday night. And then there’s Max Scherzer dealing with an arm “ailment.”

“We were considering some things,” manager Bruce Bochy admitted.

Had the Rangers not lost a grip on the American League West – and now a Wild Card berth – perhaps they don’t consider such moves. But these are precarious times in Arlington.

What once felt like a dream season is quickly becoming a nightmare collapse. The Houston Astros may not have delivered the finishing blow, but it sure felt that way after destroying the Rangers over the last three days.

“Obviously, this was not a good series,” Bochy said. “There wasn’t a lot we did well, to be honest. They played well. They got hot on us, and they didn’t miss any mistakes. The long ball killed us in this series. We just didn’t execute pitches. We left a lot up throughout the series, and we paid for it. They pitched well, they swung the bats and they put it to us, there’s no getting around that.”

The Astros outscored Texas 39-10 in the three-game sweep, including 12-3 in Wednesday’s series finale with Scherzer on the mound. To make matters worse, Scherzer is dealing with an arm “ailment” that he refused call an injury or fault for his performance.

“I’m not going to sit here and blame it,” he said after lasing a season-low three innings and surrendering seven runs.

Scherzer believes the six days off before his next start will be enough to get on track. Whether the Rangers do the same is another matter.

Texas (76-63) is 4-15 since Aug. 16 and 3.0 games behind Houston in the division. The defending World Series champions showed the Rangers firsthand how they’re taken control of the AL West.

“It was rough, that’s what it was,” Bochy said. “That was one of the toughest series I’ve seen in a while for these guys. But you know what? These guys – it’s been a while I know – but they’ve shown all year they can bounce back.

“They’re trying. They’re pulling for each other. That dynamic is not going to change because we’re struggling. They’re going to come out here next game. They’re going to give it all they have. That won’t change with these guys.”

García was scheduled to have his right knee examined Thursday. Should there be an issue, maybe the door opens for Carter his first promotion to the Majors.

The Rangers need a shot in the arm from somewhere, but to hope for a miracle cure from a single player isn’t realistic.

“You gotta come out here and win,” Scherzer said. “You gotta come out here and play as a team. No one player is gonna do this. No one player is going to snap out of this. No one player is going to all of a sudden create a winning streak. That’s impossible. You gotta win as a team.”

The Rangers open a three-game series Friday at Globe Life Field against the Oakland Athletics.

You can follow Art Garcia on Twitter @ArtGarcia92.

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