When your team has been as good as the 2023 Texas Rangers have, losses mean more and sting more, and losing skids most certainly, feel like the sky is falling.
If it weren’t for the roof at Globe Life Field, the sky might have fallen all the way on top of this Rangers team who have lost six of their last eight and just dropped three of four to the Los Angels to open this homestand.
On Friday, the Rangers took on the Blue Jays in the first game of their weekend series with the team from North of the border.
Martin Perez got the start for the Rangers tonight, coming in Perez had allowed 14 runs in his last three starts to bring his ERA up to 4.67 on the season. Overall, Perez was pretty good tonight going 6 innings giving up just two runs on three hits.
After the game, Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said “Good bounce back, threw the ball really well, good location [on] all his pitches against a tough lineup.
Texas would be the first to the scoreboard in this one when Leody Taveras launched his seventh home run of the season into right field on the first pitch of the bottom of the third inning.
Unfortunately for the Rangers, that lead would only last until the 5th inning when Blue Jays DH Danny Jansen hit a two-run home run to put Toronto up 2-1.
When speaking about the home run after the game, Rangers starter Martin Perez said “ He don’t hit that ball to hard but, it was good pitch, it was middle”
The Rangers bullpen followed Perez and was really really good tonight. Joe Barlow, Grant Anderson, ad Jose Leclerc combined to go three innings and not allow a single hit.
However, despite the pitching performance, the offense could muster up just one run and Texas would fall 2-1 to open their series with the Blue Jays.
Texas couldn’t get the big hit when they needed it once again and this offense which was once so unstoppable is now struggling mightily.
Bochy said “right, that’s the story of the game, we just couldn’t get a hit with a runner in scoring position, you’re gonna have a rough patch and that’s what’s happened”
The Rangers have now lost two in a row and seven out of their last nine.
