Thoughts on a 7-2 Rangers loss

Tigers 7, Rangers 2

• Last year, Yu Darvish had one of his worst starts as a Ranger, and it ended up being his last. Cole Hamels had one of his worst starts as a Ranger today, and it’s possible the same could happen to him.
• Hamels couldn’t get out of a disastrous first, allowing 7 runs in 0.2 IP, walking two, allowing five hits, and getting pulled after the Tigers had batted around in the inning. Only three runs were earned, as a two out error by Delino DeShields kept the inning going and somewhat saved Hamels’ ERA, but this was a disaster start by any measure.
• Hamels is, of course, on the block, and an outing like this isn’t going to enhance is trade value, though one can argue about how much damage it really does as well. Hamels is who he is at this point of his career, a veteran back-end starter who can provide innings for a team that needs them and can handle the pressure of a race, but isn’t someone you want making multiple starts in a playoff series.
• Kudos to Matt Moore and Alex Claudio for doing solid work out of the pen, as they combined for 7.1 shutout innings of worked. Moore walked some guys but limited the hits allowed, Claudio gave up some hits but didn’t walk anyone, and they both put up zeroes.
• They also won’t b available for the next few games. Moore threw 86 pitches, which is basically a start and likely means he’s not available until after the Rangers’ off day on Thursday, while Claudio, at 57 pitches, will presumably not be available for the next two days at least. Ryan Rua was warming in the 8th, so Claudio was apparently approaching his limit.
• A roster move could be in the offing to get a fresh arm up for he next few days. Carlos Tocci has hit his 60 days on the active roster so he could conceivably be put on the disabled list with some phantom injury until September, and someone like Brandon Mann could come up to provide an extra arm until the Rangers activate Martin Perez, which seems likely to happen soon.
• The offense was once again pretty blah. Shin-Soo Choo doubled twice, extending his consecutive on-base streak to 46, and continuing to show off for possible buyers. Rougned Odor continued his good stretch, going 2 for 4 with a double and a homer. Adrian Beltre had a single, as well as a ball that should have been a home run but that JaCoby Jones brought back from over the fence.
• Now Texas looks to salvage a split tomorrow, as the season plods on, and we wait to see how the trade deadline shakes out.