Thoughts on a 5-1 Rangers loss

Angels 5, Rangers 1

• You know how I said yesterday that I didn’t have much to say after yesterday’s loss, and that there wasn’t much to say? Well, that, again.
• Drew Smyly struggled again in his second start, running up his pitch count early. He had bases loaded and none out in the first thanks to an error, a walk and a single, but got out of the jam with a K-pop out-K sequence. The second saw a pair of singles get him in trouble again, before a line drive became an inning-ending double play. A HBP and a walk in the third meant Smyly was threatened again, but he wiggled out with a fly out and a K.
• So in the fourth, when the Angels loaded the bases with one out for Mike Trout, bad things seemed inevitable. And Trout did the worst thing, crunching a grand slam to left, making it a 4-0 game, and ending Smyly’s day.
• I guess you can argue that the Rangers should have brought Jesse Chavez — who came into the game for Smyly after the Trout homer — to face Trout, rather than subjecting Smyly to him for a third time. Chavez has struggled this year as well, though, and in the fourth inning, there aren’t any real great options.
• Chavez got the next two outs, and then Adrian Sampson went almost the rest of the way, getting pulled with two outs in the ninth so Jeanmar Gomez could get the final out. Sampson is starting for the injured Edinson Volquez next Saturday, so this was a warm up of sorts. Sampson allowed a homer to Albert Pujols but otherwise was generally fine, walking 2, striking out 2, and giving up 4 hits in 3.2 IP.
• The bigger problem for Texas right now is that Sampson isn’t available tomorrow, and Shelby Miller isn’t going to inspire confidence in him giving you a long outing, The Rangers could use a strong start tomorrow from one of the rehab trio.
• The bats were underwhelming again, the only run coming on a Logan Forsythe double followed by an RBI single by Isiah Kiner-Falefa. Ronald Guzman hurting his hamstring on a double is probably the biggest story of the game, though with Willie Calhoun, Patrick Wisdom and Matt Davidson all playing for Nashville right now, it doesn’t seem likely Texas will make a roster move for tomorrow’s game. Texas is off Monday, and if Guzman isn’t ready to go Tuesday, we will presumably see a move then.
• Shin-Soo Choo was the offensive star for Texas, going 2 for 3 with a double and drawing the only Ranger walk of the day. Hunter Pence also had a hit which, you know.
• So try to split the series tomorrow, before heading to Arizona for N.L. style baseball.