Wednesday Newsletter time: Texas Rangers seeing growth during best stretch of second half
The offense has clicked and the rotation has given the Rangers a chance to win as young players finally take to adjustments.
The offense has looked productive.
The defense, with the exception of one terrible inning, has been solid.
The pitching, led by a pair of rookies, has been reliable.
This is the last-place Texas Rangers we’re talking about here.
They are playing their best baseball of the second half, winning games and keeping it close in losses. They won their third straight game Tuesday, beating the Arizona Diamondbacks 3-1.
Hitters have taken to new mechanics and are recognizing which in-game adjustments to make. Pitchers seem to finally have the confidence to challenge hitters with quality strikes.
Rangers brass will take it, even though it took until the final month for some players to fully grasp what they’ve been trying to improve upon all season. Some even had to go to the minor leagues to get it figured out.
That’s fine. It’s growth. And it’s better late than never.
“It’s never too late. I don’t care if we have one game left,” manager Chris Woodward said. “It’s nice to see progress, and we’ve been talking about that a lot.
“From a wins and losses standpoint, to be frank, it’s been a failure. We haven’t won, and we want to win. That’s always the case every game. But to see some of these physical and mental things show up on the field, in between the lines, has been nice to see. It’s been refreshing for all of us.”
Woodward mentioned little things that might have gone unnoticed, such as two-strike and two-out hits. The Rangers have won games without the long ball, though they’ve had their fair share of home runs.
Entering Tuesday, starting pitchers had issued only 11 walks over the past 10 games. The rotation had a 3.05 ERA over that stretch, meaning that the starters have the team chances to win.
“We’ve been in every game,” Woodward said. “It’s nice to get some positive results. We still have some games left. We have to sprint through the finish line and finish on a positive note. … There’s a lot of conviction on both sides of the ball.”
Howard looks good
The Rangers weren’t going to let right-hander Spencer Howard go more than two innings in his first start back from the COVID-related injured list. Howard hasn’t gone past four innings in any start in the majors this season, and he certainly wasn’t going leash-free after a few weeks on the shelf.
He made the most of his outing, working quickly and efficiently in two perfect innings. Howard’s fastball sat 92-96 mph.
“It was definitely good to get back out there,” he said. “I think I had more pitches tonight that were synced up than I’d had in quite a while.”
Howard will be in the large group of young starters vying for a rotation spot next spring after being acquired as the centerpiece of the Kyle Gibson trade. After never having a consistent role in Philadelphia, Howard came to the Rangers willing to do whatever is necessary to recapture the form that made him the Phillies’ top prospect entering the season.
The changes in his mechanics are visible to the trained eye.
“There’s been a ton of progress,” Woodward said. “Spencer had a lot of delivery things to clean up. He got back to the way he used to throw when he got drafted, which was very dynamic, powerful, can drive his body down the mound. Everything looks a little more fluid right now.”
Jordan Lyles worked the final seven innings to earn the win, allowing one run on three hits. He’s a free agent after the season and doesn’t seem to fit the Rangers’ long-term plans.
Howard does. He said he is much better than he was after the trade, and he took a step in the right direction Tuesday.
“I feel a lot better now, just more under control,” he said. “I can feel when I do things right and when I do things wrong, which I think is the first step in any sort of mechanical process. I feel really good with where I’m at right now.”
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Doggy video!
So many thoughts here, the primary one being, “Holy crap!” Enjoy. See you Thursday.
Maybe the 2023 parade. It's probably not happening next year. I see the glass as three-fourths empty. My guess is only a few of the guys playing this season are around in 2023. There are some pitchers to be optimistic about, but the Rangers are playing well right now.
Outstanding video today of dog. Perfect example of the saying—it’s not the size of the dog in the fight; but the size of the fight in the dog!