In the first two games against the Oakland A's in this home series, the Texas Rangers have seen their Nos. 1 and 2 starters combine to pitch eight innings. That's rough, and it's no surprise that the Rangers were never really even in either of those games with the series finale on tap Wednesday night as the Rangers look to avoid a sweep, something Oakland couldn't do when the Rangers visited the bay last week.
Yu Darvish had the worst outing of his career on Monday night against the team that owns him unlike any other. Martin Perez saw his 26-inning scoreless streak end in the first inning on Tuesday night en route to giving up four runs in less than five innings of work.
Now, the Rangers need Robbie Ross Jr. to step up and put down a solid effort against the A's to help the Rangers avoid being swept.
Ross is having a decent season as a starter after spending the fist two years of his career as a reliever. He's 1-1 with a 2.45 ERA and is coming off a solid outing in Seattle, in which he got a no-decision after the bullpen blew the game.
The scary thing here is that Ross' two best outings this year came against the Mariners, who struggle at the plate. Oakland doesn't struggle at the plate, as we've seen the last two nights. So far this year, Ross has pitched against two strong offensive clubs — Boston and the Chicago White Sox — and neither were particularly effective.
The White Sox bashed Ross for seven runs (four earned) in 5 1/3 innings. If that Ross shows up on Wednesday night, the Rangers will be three games out in the AL West after entering Monday in a first-place tie.
