Tolleson Looks Tired, Results Consistent With That Theory

Shawn Tolleson entered Tuesday night's game in the ninth inning with a four-run lead looking to even up a series with the Padres.

What resulted was concerning, as the Rangers' closer loaded the bases with no outs before eventually allowing two runs but escaping with an 8-6 win, continuing what's been an ever-increasing concern with Tolleson's crispness in the ninth inning.

There's one obvious factor, and that's Tolleson's work load. He's just three appearances shy of tying his career-high of 64 from 2014, and there's still more than a month to play this season. Tuesday's game was his eighth game to work in 11 days, which is a bit ridiculous for a closer.

With all that said, the results haven't been great and they haven't been easy and quick, either.

Tolleson's last clean inning of work came back on Aug. 23 against the Tigers. Since then, he's worked in five games, allowed six hits, five walks, four runs. He's struck out four.

It's not time to take Tolleson's job from him, especially in the thick of a pennant race. He doesn't deserve that yet. The biggest thing the Rangers need to do is rest him for a couple of days and let him catch his breath, but when you play as many close games as the Rangers do, that can be hard.

With new power arms like Sam Dyson and Jake Diekman and the resurgence of rookie Keone Kela, the Rangers have some other options for the end-game. It'd be fantastic if Tolleson could have Wednesday night off before Thursday's scheduled off-day so he can head to Los Angeles for what is going to be a pivotal series with the chance to bury their hated AL West rivals.

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