Texas Rangers sink to historic lows in 12th straight loss
The Rangers could not hold onto their first lead in 99 innings, and lost all 10 games on their first road trip after the All-Star break.
More offensive futility. Tempers boiling over. A 12th consecutive loss.
Welcome to the Texas Rangers’ Sunday afternoon at Minute Maid Park.
The Houston Astros beat the Rangers 3-1 to send them home winless on their 10-game road trip to open the season half after losing the last two before the All-Star break.
The Rangers did actually lead in the game, their first lead in 99 innings, thanks to a fifth-inning solo homer by Eli White immediately after third baseman Brock Holt and manager Chris Woodward were ejected for arguing a called third strike.
But it vanished in the bottom half, when Dennis Santana surrendered a two-out, two-strike two-run homer to Abraham Toro. The Astros added a run in the sixth, and wiggled out of a bases-loaded no-outs jam in the seventh en route to the three-game sweep.
“Losing sucks,” said outfielder David Dahl, who collected two hits.
It’s not just the losing but how the Rangers are losing.
The Rangers have a 7.82 ERA and have allowed 22 home runs in the first 10 games after the All-Star break — both the worst in the majors. Their .151 batting average, three homers and 15 runs are also the worst in the majors.
Their batting average during the 12-game slide is .153 with 20 runs scored. The 12-game losing streak is tied for the second-longest in club history, and the Rangers are 30 games below .500 (35-65) at the 100-game mark for the third time in franchise history.
“It’s gut-wrenching,” Woodward said. “It’s the toughest situation I’ve ever been a part of, and I know a lot of these guys can say the same thing. But we just cannot stop. We cannot stop fighting. We cannot stop believing we will get out of this.”
The ejection was Woodward’s second of the season. He had barked at Timmons an inning earlier after a bad called third strike on Dahl, and was miffed in the fifth that Holt was ejected so quickly.
Dahl said the ejections and the White homer fired up the Rangers, but it didn’t last.
Their first lead since July 10 lasted two outs. The 99 innings without a lead is the fifth longest drought in MLB history and is the longest streak in the majors since the 1963 Houston Colt .45s went 102 innings.
The Rangers may have also set the MLB record for consecutive innings without holding a lead at the end of a frame at 104, but that had not been confirmed by the Elias Sports Bureau.
At least the Rangers can’t lose Monday. They are off.
“No one wants to lose,” Dahl said. “It’s definitely disappointing. It’s not fun. We’ve got to figure it out.”