Bats quiet again in shutout
ARLINGTON — Well, at least they weren't no hit.
The unfortunate part is that's the second time it's been said about the Texas Rangers in the last week. Four days after Houston Astros starter Ronel Blanco no-hit the Rangers for 5 2⁄3 innings, Oakland Athletics starter J.P. Sears took a no-no into the seventh inning on Tuesday in Texas' 1-0 loss.
Adolis García broke up Blanco's no-hit bid with a single. He did the same to Sears, too, with a single into left with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning. Now he just needs some help.
The loss squandered right-handed pitcher Jon Gray's first decent start of the season and a shutdown affair from the bullpen. It also resulted in the Rangers' first series loss of the season.
Here are three thoughts from the loss:
Paging the offense
Yeah, it wasn't pretty. Leadoff hitter Marcus Semien worked a walk in the top of the first inning, stole second and took third on a flyout from rookie Wyatt Langford, but a García strikeout ended the frame. Catcher Jonah Heim worked a leadoff walk in the second but couldn't be advanced past first base. The same goes for first baseman Ezequiel Duran in the fifth.
The most glaring part: Shortstop Corey Seager struck out four times. He only had two three-strikeout games in all of 2023.
The Rangers totaled 17 runs on 31 hits in their first two games vs. Houston last Friday and Saturday. Since then? They've totaled 15 runs in five games and have been held to three runs or less in three of them.
From bad to worse
After García's single, Heim was hit by an Austin Adams slider to put runners on first and second with one out. The Rangers pinch hit Jared Walsh for Ezequiel Duran, and Walsh popped a flyball into the shallow infield. Oakland second baseman Zack Gelof charged to make the catch, slid and dropped it. Neither García or Heim left their base, and Adams fielded the ball to kickstart an inningending 4-1-5-6 double play to squash the Rangers' best scoring chance of the day.
Gray’s rebound
The 32-year-old righthander allowed one run on three hits and one walk in five innings pitched and struck out a season-high nine batters. He didn't pitch past the fourth inning in either of his first two starts of the season vs. the Chicago Cubs and the Houston Astros.
Gray struck out the side on 12 pitches (10 strikes) in the first inning before Oakland left fielder Seth Brown drilled a changeup 378 feet into right field for a solo home run and a 1-0 A's lead.
Oakland drove up his pitch count in the third inning, but Gray worked around a pair of one-out singles for a scoreless frame.
He pitched a 1-2-3 fourth inning and, after he issued a leadoff walk to Lawrence Butler in the fifth, struck out three-straight Oakland batters to finish his day.
The major concern: Gray's velocity has still yet to rebound. His fastball averaged 94.1 mph and only cracked 95 mph three times; it averaged 95.7 mph last season.
Gray said after his last start vs. Houston that when his velocity does drop, it tends to return to normal marks within a week or two.