Thoughts on a 5-1 Rangers loss

Red Sox 5, Rangers 1

• Well, I don’t know that there’s much to say about this one. The Red Sox had as many home runs as the Rangers had hits, and when that happens, its hard to win.
• Bartolo Colon gave the Rangers 7 innings, and I was kind of surprised they didn’t send him out for an 8th, given he was at just 91 pitches. Colon threw the kind of game that I think at this point we’ve come to expect -- worked quickly, threw strikes, let the fielders do the work. Colon didn’t walk anyone and struck out only four batters, but of the five hits he gave up, four of them were solo home runs. When you throw a bunch of strikes and rely on 88 mph fastballs, home runs are going to result. That being said, I suspect the Rangers would be happy to get 7 innings of 4 run ball from Colon every time out.
• The Rangers, meanwhile, were pretty much shut down by Red Sox starter Rick Porcello. Delino DeShields led off the game with a single and had a single in the ninth, Nomar Mazara had a double and a solo home run, and Shin-Soo Choo had a walk. That was it as far as the Ranger offense went.
• Jake Diekman pitched the 8th, walking a batter who came around to score on a Hanley Ramirez double, and Jesse Chavez pitched a scoreless ninth. The past three days have provided a much-needed breather for several of the Ranger arms, as the Rangers have used, in that span, Nick Gardewine (who has since been optioned back to AAA), Jesse Chavez, Tony Barnette, Jose Leclerc, and now Diekman and, for a second time, Chavez. Keone Kela, Kevin Jepsen and Alex Claudio have gotten three straight games off, which I think was needed.
• Ronald Guzman was 0 for 3 with 3 strikeouts, and has looked overmatched at the plate of late. Rougned Odor is starting a rehab assignment tomorrow, which means he’s going to be activated sometime next week, and while the assumption has been that Ryan Rua, who was recalled when Adrian Beltre went down, would be optioned when Odor returned, Guzman could end up getting sent down, with Gallo returning to first base, Odor going to second base, Isiah Kiner-Falefa moving to third base, and left field being manned by some combination of Drew Robinson, Ryan Rua and Renato Nunez.