How does it go quickly from bad to worse?
On the heels of striking out 11 times against a pedestrian pitcher, the Rangers Wednesday night will be face Felix Hernandez. And, oh yeah, they’ll do it without the .304-hitting bat of Mitch Moreland.
While the Rangers will miss Moreland for three weeks while waiting for Josh Hamilton, it’s pretty simple: They don’t hit; They won’t win.
Mariners’ starter J.A. Happ entered Tuesday night’s game in Arlington with nine strikeouts in 20.2 innings, then promptly struck out nine Rangers in 6.2 innings en route to a 2-1 Seattle win.
“We’ve got to be able to string hits together,” Rangers’ manager Jeff Banister said in his post-game media conference. “The message stays the same. We go up to the plate looking for a pitch to drive. The ability to put innings together, that's when you put big numbers together.”
As the opening month of the season comes to a close, none of us should be surprised. The Rangers, decimated by injuries in spring training, are 7-13 with five series losses and two splits. They’re just not that good.
Especially when they don’t hit. And against Hernandez Wednesday doesn’t seem like a good night to break out of an offensive slump. King Felix is 3-0 this season and has allowed only five earned runs in 28 innings.
Sports Connection
Connecting you to your favorite North Texas sports teams as well as sports news around the globe.
A native Texan who was born in Duncanville and graduated from UT-Arlington, Richie Whitt has been a mainstay in the Metroplex media since 1986. He’s held prominent roles on all media platforms including newspaper (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Dallas Observer), radio (105.3 The Fan) and TV (co-host on TXA 21 and numerous guest appearances, including NBC 5). He currently lives in McKinney with his wife, Sybil, and two very spoiled dogs.
