14-15 - Miller can’t cut the mustard as Rangers drop finale to Pirates 7-5

This game was too started by someone not named Mike Minor, too midday on a Wednesday, and too infused with the stink of National League to ever be enjoyable even though the Rangers managed a late rally that made things more interesting.

Shelby Miller had his usual Shelby Miller problems of being both inefficient and not very good. After allowing four runs in 3 1⁄3 innings to the two-game series sweeping Pirates, Miller was lifted. Miller has now tossed a grand total of 23 2⁄3 innings spanning six starts for an average of just below four innings per outing.

Eventually the Rangers out-paced the Miller problem with more runs scored than he allowed but the additional issue became that, with so many starters unable to pitch even into the middle innings, eventually the underbelly of the middle relief gets exposed and today that meant the Pirates scored an additional three runs off Rule 5 selection Kyle Dowdy as Texas was forced to get through more than five remaining innings.

Those three runs, a product of only 3 1⁄3 innings, proved to be the difference in a 7-5 loss.

Player of the Game: Joey Gallo hit a home run. Again. It was his 11th. That is tied for the most in the American League. Gallo now sports an OPS of 1.091. That is second best in the American League. Gallo’s 1.3 fWAR so far this year puts him fifth in the American League right behind teammate Elvis Andrus.

Up Next: The Rangers have another day off tomorrow in the middle of a homestand which makes playing a game at practically noon today pretty obnoxious but whatever. After the reprieve, Texas will welcome Toronto to the The Ballpark for a set that will feature the first look at Vladdy Jr. for the Rangers.