It had to happen eventually. The Rangers, now 17-7, lost their first series this season at home to the Tampa Bay Rays, taking the win in just one of the three games.
On Friday, Matt Harrison started the night with one of the lowest ERA’s of a starting pitcher in the American League; he didn’t end the game the same way, to say the least. He let up four runs in the first inning, and he never quite commanded his pitches as well as he needed to.
The Rangers went down 8-4, but not without a fight. In an intense at-bat, Elvis Andrus was the tying run in the eighth inning, with two outs and the bases loaded.
He took three balls, a scary notion for a pitcher with Josh Hamilton standing on deck. The count ran full.
Elvis hit one to opposite field, deep down the right field line. The brisk wind in Arlington pushed the ball quite literally mere feet to the wrong side of the foul pole. Game-tying grand slam, it was not. Elvis flew out to right center on the next pitch, ending the inning, stranding runners on each base in what was ultimately the last chance for the Rangers to pull out a win.
The next night, Colby Lewis was in a pitcher’s duel with Niemann, the Rangers only maintaining a 3-2 lead until the 7th inning. Burke Badenhop came on the mound for the Rays, and manager Joe Maddon called to intentionally walk Josh Hamilton and face Adrian Beltre, a more pitching-favorable righty-versus-righty matchup. Not this time. Beltre belted a three-run home run, pushing the Rangers ahead 7-2.
With the series tied a one a piece, the Rangers had to win Sunday to protect their streak of series wins. Derek Holland, for his second start in a row, did not perform up to his usual standard. It was at best an average start, but David Price held the typical heavy run support by the Rangers to a minimum.
Texas’ hope for a win once again came down a single at bat. This time, it was Kinsler in the bottom of the ninth. Two outs, bases loaded, and down three runs, a grand slam would have made for a walk off win. Kinsler lined the ball straight back to the pitcher, who slowly unveiled that he had caught the ball, ending the game.
Meanwhile, if Darvish continues on his path of improving upon every start, he’ll be throwing perfect games by the All-Star break. He threw 8 1/3 shut-out innings against the Yankees, and gave up one run (a solo homerun by Edward Encarnacion, the first homer given up by Darvish) to the Toronto Blue Jays.
In his first start of the season, he gave up four runs in the first inning. Since then, he’s given up four runs, meaning aside from his first inning as a major leaguer, he’d have the lowest ERA in the American League.
The Rangers are now 17-7 after a heart breaking 8-7 loss to Toronto, a wild scoring game that included a two-out, top of the ninth comeback as well as a five run second inning. The Rangers still enjoy the best record in the American League, and are tied with the Dodgers of the National League.
After this road trip, the Angels come to Arlington in what is perhaps the most anticipated series of the season so far. As it currently stands, the series opener on May 11 will pit Yu Darvish against CJ Wilson, who was previously the Ranger’s best starter but was effectively replaced by the Japanese phenom. Albert Pujols, who the Rangers last saw in St. Louis, is also now part of the Angels baseball club. He is yet to hit a home run this season, his longest career long ball drought.
