Thoughts on a 4-3 Rangers loss

Royals 4, Rangers 3

• This was a very Colby Lewis, 2014, start.  He threw a lot of strikes (70 strikes out of 98 pitches), and wasn't bad...but at the same time, he was hittable, allowing 3 doubles and a home run, as well as 5 singles.  Colby struck out 5 and walked 1, and overall, looked like a serviceable starter...but the end result was 4 runs allowed in 7 innings.  And this has been the problem with 2014 Colby Lewis...especially over the last 2-3 months, he's looked good enough that you feel like he could be a part of the 2015 rotation.  But at the same time, he's not pitched well enough to make you confident he can be part of the 2015 rotation.  He's within the cone of uncertainty, not being good enough, or bad enough, to make a decision for next year easy.
• Shawn Tolleson and Alex Claudio each pitched.  Neither allowed a run.  So that's something.
• A game of inches and all that...but Adrian Beltre and Elvis Andrus each had deep drives today that looked like they were going to be gone, but came just short of going out.  As I'm typing this, Mark McLemore just said that Elvis's shot -- that would have tied the game in the 8th -- would have gone out if it were a little warmer in Kansas City tonight.  I don't know about that...but like much in 2014, both the Elvis shot and the Beltre shot held promise, but ultimately fell short.
• Yordano Ventura is a really, really good young pitcher, and he stymied the Rangers for much of tonight's game.  The Rangers didn't get to him until the 6th, when Elvis hit a one out double, Alex Rios walked, and then they each advanced a base on a wild pitch.  Adrian Beltre brought Elvis home with a grounder to shortstop, but Ryan Rua then fanned to end the inning.
• Texas finally chased Ventura in the 7th, when Adam Rosales doubled and scored on a Tomas Telis single, and then, after a Rougned Odor grounder, Michael Choice brought Telis home with an RBI single.  Alas, the Royals went to the bullpen, and other than the Elvis deep drive, the Rangers were pretty much punchless.
• Salvador Perez, incidentally, is really good.  I really wish the Rangers had him.