Recapping a winning week for the Rangers

2024 Season Record: 19-16

2024 Series Record: 6-4, 1 split

This was a very good and very weird week for the Rangers.

GAME 30: 7-1 Win vs Washington Nationals

This was a really well rounded game from all points, pitching, defense, and offensive standpoint.

First and foremost, Jon Gray was beyond fantastic. Pitching eight full innings, he gave up just one run on three hits and three strikeouts and didn’t walk a single batter.

Cole Winn followed that with a perfect ninth inning.

The defense was flawless and the offense scored in every inning after the third. Home runs by both Josh Smith and Leody Taveras were unexpected and exciting!

GAME 31: 0-1 Loss vs Washington Nationals

This was a very winnable game for Rangers.

They loaded the bases twice with no outs and as the score shows, got nothing for it.

Can an entire baseball lineup suddenly come down with a case of the hitting yips all at the same time? I'm asking for the world champions.

— Christopher Fittz (@apoplecticfittz) May 2, 2024

It’s always amazing to me how once the pitching starts to figure it out and be a solid piece of the puzzle, the bats go cold and vice versa. It feels like part of the Rangers motto.

However, It appears that Andrew Heaney saw Gray’s outing the night before and took it as a challenge and dang if he didn’t rise to it. Heaney went seven innings and the only run he gave up was in the second inning with back to back hits. Overall he gave up just four hits, no walks, and struck out four but the bats just couldn’t do anything to support him.

GAME 32: 6-0 Win vs Washington Nationals

Pitching continued to dominate in this game and the bats also came alive! But at what cost?

Nathan Eovladi had a very good 5.1 innings and giving up no runs on two hits and two walks while striking out eight. But after getting the first out in the sixth inning, the trainer came out to the mound. It feels like Matt Lucero, the Rangers athletic trainer, is really getting his work cut out this first month of the season.

Eovaldi officially left the game with right groin tightness and announced he’d get an MRI done in Kansas.

GAME 33: 1-7 Loss @ Kansas City Royals

That MRI showed a strain so Eovaldi is now on the 15-day IL.

The #Rangers IL might have the best rotation in MLB

deGrom
Eovaldi
Scherzer
Mahle
Bradford

— Jared Sandler (@JaredSandler) May 3, 2024

The Rangers lack of scoring with runners in scoring position problems reared its ugly head in this game as well. The Rangers were 1-for-6 with RISP. They scored their only run in the third inning.

Cole Winn unfortunately is human and gave up his first runs of the year, giving up four runs on four hits in his one-third inning of work.

Jose Urena also allowed two runs on two hits and a walk allowed both inherited runners to score, all of this taking place in the seventh inning.

GAME 34: 15-4 Win @ Kansas City Royals

The World Series Champions showed up to this game, a dangerous line-up from top to bottom and strong pitching. But of course it came at a cost. Wyatt Langford could be headed to the IL after pulling up just a little slow with an apparent hamstring issue.

The Rangers went 7-for-14 and scored six of their runs with two outs. They also loaded the bases a couple of times and scored runners, which feels like a good turn for them considering earlier this week.

GAME 35: 3-2 Win/10 @ Kansas City Royals

The Rangers stole this win. Not scoring a run until the 8th, 9th, and 10th innings, it wasn’t looking great for them.

At the start, it looked like it was going to be a continuation of Saturday’s game after they loaded the bases with two outs in the first inning and made Royals’ pitcher, Daniel Lynch IV, use 34 pitches.

However, no dice. Josh Smith grounded out to end the innings and Lynch settled down very quickly.

Gray, once again going deep into the game and pitching well enough to get the win, had no run support behind him. Going seven innings, and giving up just the two runs on seven hits, no walks, and striking out seven, he left the game with a loss looming.

Jon Gray's first 4 outings: 10 BB
Jon Gray's last 4 outings: 1 BB

— Jared Sandler (@JaredSandler) May 5, 2024

Taveras lead off the eighth inning with a double, Simeien got him over, and Seager got him in. With one out in the ninth inning, Jonah Heim hits a solo home run to tie up the game. Then in the 10th inning with ghost-runner- Taveras at second with one out, Seager singles to get him over and Lowe singles to get him in.

They probably could’ve/should’ve gotten more runs in the 10th inning but David Robertson shut it down in the bottom of the inning for his second inning of work so the potential extra runs were just extra.