Tanner Scheppers was picked up by his teammates at the plate in the top of the ninth inning on Wednesday afternoon in Colorado. If that didn't happen, the struggling Rangers reliever very well could've had a direct hand in the Rangers losing a second time in three games.
Scheppers entered Wednesday's game in the eighth inning as the Rangers had built an 8-4 lead, and the struggling righty promptly blew it. It all came to a head when he gave up a three-run homer to Carlos Gonzalez that tied the game heading into the ninth inning.
Scheppers took the loss on Monday night when he gave up a walkoff hit after allowing a walkoff single in the ninth to waste a comeback from down 7-0 earlier in the game.
Despite all of his recent struggles, Rangers skipper Jeff Banister said he's still confident in Scheppers and his "electric" stuff.
“I feel the same about him,” Banister told reporters. “He still has electric stuff. He’s going to be out there in the eighth inning, sometimes in the seventh. I have confidence in him.”
That's not really what Rangers fans want to hear right now, but of course it's all because what's fresh on their minds from Scheppers. Being real, these two games have come in the most hitter friendly environment in baseball in Colorado, but it's still pretty concerning to see how he's fared lately.
Scheppers will need to be good in his next appearance or the red flags will be raised even more, and it might even be coming from his manager at that point.
