38-33 - Rangers disappoint their fathers with 11-3 finale loss to Reds

In something of a proof of wild card contender concept road trip for the Rangers, things were working out really nicely. Texas split a series in Boston that they easily could have won but in doing so showed that they could hang on the road against one of the teams in the league with expectations attached to them. Then Texas went to Cincinnati and took the first two games without much issue and came into today’s game with a chance to sweep.

Overall, yes, Texas will head home with their first winning road trip of the season but things took a dramatic turn in today’s finale which will leave a sour taste in the mouth.

I noted yesterday on Twitter that the Rangers had lost only five times in June and those losses were by a combined six runs. They lost to the Reds today by eight runs. It was finally a blowout loss for Texas and the below the surface cracks started to form ravines.

First up, Ariel Jurado was awful and if you believe that he’s been utilizing smoke and mirrors since joining the rotation, then he was probably due for a stinker like this. That doesn’t make it anymore palatable sitting here today.

Worse, however, was the Rangers lost Hunter Pence to injury when he left the game grabbing at a barking groin from being 80 years old and trying to flag down a flyball in right field because you can’t have designated hitter in the garbage other league.

The Rangers are already without Joey Gallo and now they’ll likely see Pence miss some time. That’s essentially removing their best two hitters so far this season and their biggest threats in the middle of the lineup. Couple that with a bum knee for Nomar Mazara and conceivably the Rangers are coming home without their 3-4-5 hitters.

To make the dark skies even more gloomy, the Rangers are still in that 21 games in 20 days stretch and Jurado’s short outing could leave the bullpen exhausted over the last leg of upcoming games.

It’s still a winning road trip for Texas, and it’s hard to say it wasn’t a success, but boy did it end ugly.

Player of the Game: I mean, up until his groin imploded Pence had the biggest hit for the Rangers with a two-run shot to tie the game 3-3 in the top of the third. It was a miserable tumble downhill for everyone wearing a T on his hat after that.

Up Next: The Rangers return home to open up a series against the Cleveland Indians on Monday with RHP Lance Lynn set to make the start against RHP Mike Clevinger. First pitch from The Ballpark is scheduled for 7:05 pm CT.