The Texas Rangers pitchers are throwing games away. On Tuesday, the Rangers had a 3-0 lead going into the ninth. Jose LeClerc and company gave up six runs after the eighth. On Wednesday afternoon the Rangers had a 1-0 lead going into the fourth. Again, they lost the game by a final of 7-5. Mike Minor and Lance Lynn have been great. Adrian Sampson has been good. The starting rotation has a combined ERA of 6.23. The pen is not much better, posting an ERA of 5.13. When starters are not going deep and the pen can hold leads, then they are literally throwing games away.
The Rangers offense has been very good and the defense has not been too bad either. Going into the 2019 season, anyone who follows the team knew that pitching would be a problem. While it has been better than expected, they still are not good. If Minor, Lynn and Sampson can continue to keep the team in games, they could win more than anyone thought possible. Again, I had them down for 65 wins in the preseason.
Pitching is not going to get a major upgrade. Starting pitchers in Frisco are posting a 4.56 ERA, while Nashville is posting a 5.25 ERA. Like Sampson, the Ranges will soon bring up guys from the minors to see how they do. The 2019 season was assumed to be a throw away season anyway, so the Rangers may as well bring in the young guns and test their skills at the major league level. With what they have, I still believe they will finish better than I originally predicted, but I still don’t see them competing for any kind of wild card spot. Am I right or wrong? Let me know in the comment section down below or on Facebook or Twitter.
