With a 6-3 win, the Rangers are back in a two-way tie with Oakland atop the AL West.
The Rangers were just patient enough against Felix Hernandez to scrape across 3 runs on a night in which Colby Lewis was hit hard in the initial stages of the game. After getting to the Seattle bullpen, Texas put up 3 more runs.
Tomorrow, the Rangers will go for a series win at 3:10 PM CT.
Chalk another one up to Ron Washington, folks.
Yes, Alexi Ogando left the 87mph pitch down the middle for Kyle Seager, but it was his managers unpreparednes that allowed it to happen.
For the 2nd time in 3 games, the Rangers lost a game they should have lost, and in my mind, the finger has to be pointed directly at Ron Washington.
The fact that Alexi Ogando was used in that situation, for a 3rd straight day, instead of Jason Frasor, indicated to me that Wash seemed to believe the game was in his pocket and he would save Frasor for the series against Oakland that starts tomorrow.
When you have a game like this, you’ve got to win the game in front of you, which is something I’m sure Wash preaches to the guys all the time. However, it would seem that he got caught looking ahead, and deservedly so, put the Rangers in a position to fail.
It might seem a little hackneyed to complain about a ball club that is tied for the AL West lead and the best record in the AL, but it’s incredibly frustrating when the manager continues to make questionable (at best ) decisions that cost the Rangers wins.
It’s Sunday, and the Rangers play a day game today, so rather than a lengthy write-up, I figured I would leave up an open thread with some questions.
1. Matt Harrison will return to the rotation today, making his first start since April of 2013. Fangraphs Steamer projections have Harrison topping out at 123 IP this season with an ERA of 4.48 and an FIP mark of 4.32. How many innings above or below that figure would you expect to see, and what sort of numbers do you expect Harrison to put up?
2. Colby Lewis had another solid, but unspectacular outing last night in Seattle. He was hit hard in the early innings, giving up leadoff home runs in each of the first 2 innings, but seemed to settle in pretty well after that. He also managed to work out of a bases loaded no-out jam while only allowing a single run. How pleased (or displeased) are you with the performance of Lewis thus far in 2014, and what would you like to see change, if anything?
3. Much of the talk surrounding Martin Perez and his stellar performance to begin the season has surrounded some inevitable regression on the horizon. Perez currently possesses an ERA of 1.42 and his SIERA sits at 3.50. A BABIP of .252 and a ground ball rate of 60.8% seem to suggest that he’ll regress some, but it remains to be seen how much. Do you view Perez as a potential TORP, or do you see him as a #2-3 starter at best? Why?
4. It remains to be seen whether or not Shin-Soo Choo will require a trip to the DL with a sore left ankle. If the Rangers decide to avoid the DL, but he misses a few more days, how comfortable are you with the Rangers potentially having only Daniel Robertson as a backup outfielder? Would you prefer that Choo take the DL stint in the same mold of Adrian Beltre’s recent injury timeline?
As always, the comments section is open below for your thoughts.
As far as losses go, this one goes down as one of the more frustrating ones.
Robbie Ross was… solid? Then again, he did hit 3 batters, which might as well be walks, except without actually making the hitter work.
When Ross left the game and Frasor provided an inning of scoreless relief, apparently Ron Washington felt that his gut said to go with Neal Cotts in the bottom of the 8th inning. Despite the fact that Cotts has struggled… well all season so far, Wash gave him the longest leash possible, giving Cotts time to blow a 3-2 lead and give up three runs before finally summoning Alexi Ogando to somehow “salvage” a game in which the Rangers were now down 5-3.
Ogando proceeded to be wild, as he is from time to time (aka pretty much always), and the Rangers headed to the 9th down 6-3.
Then Fernando Rodney came into the game.
I’m sorry, but anyone who wears their baseball hat as such just deserves what they get.
And Rodney almost got it. He ended up with the bases loaded in a 6-5 game in which he had walked home two runs. With Adrian Beltre coming up, you had to figure he’d be putting the ball in the air.
Except he chased a pitch outside, lined to Justin Smoak, and Elvis Andrus was doubled off. Game over.
As much as I want to be upset with Beltre for swinging at that pitch — and wearing some sort of ridiculous glasses I’ve never seen him wear before — I can’t help but blame Ron Washington.
You’ve got a struggling reliever in Neal Cotts in a high-leverage situation. The very moment he begins to struggle, you have to have someone warming, not once the lead is blown. This is the very reason I’ve long been a detractor to the “leadership” advantage he supposedly gives this club. For every advantage that may give, Wash gives it up by continuing to “trust in his guys” as opposed to going with what the numbers actually say.
This is why the Tampa Bay Rays have been successful over the last 6-7 years; and yet, for all of the talent on the roster, it continualy amazes me that Ron Washington continues to “go with the gut” as opposed to actually being progressive and winning the game.
Update on Saturday, April 26, 2014 at 12:52AM by
Brandon Land
I’m going to clarify. From having Esteban German hit in the World Series, riding Michael Young into the ground in 2012, to believing that somehow Neal Cotts would suddenly work magic tonight, it’s all on Ron Washington.
He very well may be a fantastic coach, but we’re inching closer and closer to the territory in which we can undoubtedly say he is ill-equiped to be the manager of a contending Major League Baseball team.
Like a real idiot, when I previewed the Oakland series I said it’d be “nice” if the Rangers could win two out of three, but that winning only one “wouldn’t kill them.” Psst. Stupid. In a series that felt like Texas was losing the entire time, somehow they scraped together an 8th inning run to win the opener 4-3, parlayed back-to-back run-scoring hits from Josh Wilson and Michael Choice with two outs in the 9th to win the middle game, and Martín Perez displayed something wonderful on Wednesday to seal the sweep.
Over a three-day span, the Rangers basically did to the Athletics what the Athletics do to the rest of the humanity on a regular basis. And it was beautiful.
Winners of 8 out of their last 9, Texas looks to carry their good fortune into Seattle this weekend as they square off with the hapless Mariners:
All the king’s men
Friday — Robbie Ross (1-1, 2.31 ERA, 3.62 xFIP) vs. Roenis Elias (1-2, 3.22 ERA, 4.51 xFIP)
Ross has held his own out of the rotation so far; though he’s been over-achieving, his 21% strikeout rate can definitely play on a contending rotation. Will he keep it up? I’m skeptical, always, but if his 62.7% ground ball rate doesn’t absolutely fall off of a cliff, and if he starts limiting his home runs a bit (15.8% HR/FB%), he should be an effective enough starter for the Rangers to keep around until Derek Holland returns. (Author’s note: Who the hell else would the Rangers go to?)
I’ve not seen much of Elias, so there isn’t much to say about him. Apparently he’s 25, left-handed, and his peripherals (16.3% K%, 12.0% BB%) appear pretty bland. He did beat the Rangers the first time he faced them this year, but I must’ve been at work because I missed it.
Saturday — Colby Lewis (1-1, 4.22 ERA, 3.73 xFIP) vs. Felix Hernandez (3-1, 2.04 ERA, 2.29 xFIP)
It’s been awesome having Colby Lewis back in the rotation. Now that he’s back — since I’m greedy — I want him to be effective. At this stage of the season we all just want to see him get his six innings in, feel good, stay healthy, all that jazz. There’s a decent chance this is Colby’s last real chance in the major leagues, at least as far as World Series’ go. He’s come a long way — multiple times — rehabbing through injury to get back to the point where he can make a difference. He deserves this more than just about anyone.
Unfortunately for Texas, any game Felix Hernandez is slated to be on the hill, all I see in my head is his final pitching line being: 9.0 innings, 0 runs, 4 hits (all singles), 0 walks, 10 strikeouts. Usually I’m way off, because the Rangers have had better success off Hernandez than any other American League squad. With Adrian Beltre returning on Friday, meaning he’ll more than likely be in the lineup Saturday, we should expect some GIF-worthy material between the two future Hall-of-Famers.
Sunday — Matt Harrison vs. Brandon Mauer (4.1 IP)
Brandon Mauer is cool and everything, but Matt Harrison is returning from the DL, so I’m not going to talk about Brandon Mauer.
Harrison hasn’t started a game in the major leagues in over a year. Last week in his final rehab start at Double-A Frisco, Matt threw 8 shutout innings, allowing 3 hits while striking out 5. It’s excellent news for the Rangers that he’s back, but a lot like Colby Lewis, and, really, anyone who has missed such a significant amount of time due to injury, staying healthy is priority #1 out of the chute.
In his last two full seasons, Matt Harrison has excelled, posting numbers reflective of a #2 starter. Assuming health is always a tricky proposition for pitchers, but if Matt recaptures some semblance of his former self, it gives the Rangers a third pitcher — along with Yu Darvish and Martín Perez — capable of shutting down any opposing offense. There are not many teams out there that can say that.
As always, a series win would be much appreciated. Since their 5-2 start, the Mariners have lost 11 of their last 14 contests the last two weeks, hitting an anemic .218/.258/.329 (60 wRC+) in the process. Signing Robinson Cano in the offseason was a bold statement from a franchise that’s essentially been dormant in recent memory, but aside from his star power and the occasional homer from Corey Hart, it’s still an offense without an identity. It looks like the Mariners are just going to be the Mariners all over again.
The Rangers, meanwhile, are getting healthier. Adrian Beltre returns tonight (at the expense of Kevin Kouzmanoff who is likely heading to the DL), Shin-Soo Choo could return at some point this weekend, and Matt Harrison will make his first start on Sunday. Baseball has been bright lately for the Rangers, but it could be getting even brighter.
Two out of three this weekend. Let’s do it again.