The Rangers Have a Lefty Problem
The Texas Rangers’ offense has looked better than it did last year, but there are still some struggles for them.
They currently rank 20th in batting average at .231, 6th in home runs at 22, and 18th in OPS with .693—all of these are better than last year’s offense.
There have been ups and downs with Brandon Nimmo and Jake Burger being the standouts, while players like Corey Seager and Wyatt Langford have had a slow start.
One trend has emerged in the young season, and it is slightly concerning for the Rangers and could cause issues later.
Struggling to Hit Lefties
Through 19 games, it is easy to see that the Rangers are hitting better against right-handed pitchers compared to left-handed pitchers.
The slash line against righties is .250/.329/.426 compared to their slash line of .182/.249/.278 against lefties.
This was on full display earlier this week against Jeffery Springs and the Athletics. The Rangers scored a run off him in the first inning, and it seemed like they would be all over him, but they didn’t manage another run for the rest of the game.
The platoon guys who are supposed to hit lefties have had tough starts for the Rangers. Andrew McCutchen has been cold after his hot start. He is only hitting .214. Sam Haggerty is doing even worse with a .167 and only has two hits this season.
The Texas Rangers faced lefty Jacob Lopez, and he had his best start of the season against them, throwing five innings of two-run ball.
Nimmo would tag him for one run with an RBI single, and Burger would get the other run on a sacrifice fly. Despite the Rangers only getting three hits off him, they did a good job drawing walks as they got four off him.
While the hits are not coming in bunches, they have shown they can be patient against lefties, which can help them win.
Only time will tell whether they continue to hit lefties or find a way, but it will be exciting to see, as the team is currently holding down first place in the division.
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Categorized:Rangers