It was a frustrating day for the Texas Rangers.
For the great majority of Thursday’s matinee against the Oakland Athletics, Texas proved to be its own worst enemy.
Not disregarding a solid start from Oakland’s Dallas Braden, Texas did its division rivals a favor by stranding 12 base runners over the contest, including a bases loaded-no outs scenario in the fifth that was wasted to leave the game tied at zero.
Texas was 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position on the day.
Down 3-1 in the eighth, Ian Kinsler launched a would be go-ahead shot to centerfield, only to have it gloved by centerfielder Ryan Sweeney to end the inning.
In the ninth, Texas made another attempt at a come back, down 4-1. However, a rare base running mistake by Michael Young hampered Texas’ efforts; Young was thrown out at third attempting to stretch a double into a triple.
Andruw Jones followed it up with a solo shot to bring the deficit to two, but it was ultimately to no avail.
Sports Connection
Connecting you to your favorite North Texas sports teams as well as sports news around the globe.
Hank Blalock struck out to end the game, and Texas’ hopes of their first winning April under Ron Washington. With the 4-2 loss, Texas is one game under .500, at 10-11.
As the calendar turns to May, Texas has yet, still, to find its identity. Vicente Padilla pitched, arguably, better than he has all year, surrendering three earned runs over 6+ in the loss. He is now 1-2 on the year.
The good news is that Texas has shown the capacity to hit and/or pitch very well. The bad news is that they have rarely put the two together thus far.
Take, for example, Texas’ ace, Kevin Millwood. Millwood has been almost dominant this season, with a 2.13 ERA in five starts, all of which have consisted of seven or more innings pitched; with Texas’ widely lauded offensive attack, he should be, at least, 3-1, right.
Well, apparently not. Texas’ league-frightening offense has gone silent, more or less, on nights that Millwood has taken the call. And therein lies Texas’ struggle this season, the reason that it is currently a game under .500.
Another bit of encouragement for Rangers fans is that the month of April, for our purposes, is over. Texas is 30-44 in the month of April under Washington, including a debilitating 10-18 mark at this time last year. Seattle still has the lead in the west, but they aren’t running away with the division as Los Angeles did in 2008.
For now, there is still time for Texas -- time to figure it out and time, hopefully, to put it together.
