Thoughts on a 3-2 Rangers loss

Twins 3, Rangers 2

• The phrase that comes to mind is “playing just well enough to lose.”
• Four losses this week, two in extra innings, then today’s one run loss.
• This will be chalked up to a young team, a team still learning how to win, a team being tested by the grind of a 162 game season, I’m sure. It’s still vexing.
• Want to focus on the positives? Kolby Allard and John King each pitched well. Allard was perfect through three, allowed a total of one hit in his final two innings, and had just one bad inning, the fourth. In the fourth he gave up a single, a Nelson Cruz home run, walked the one batter of the game he gave up a walk to, and then gave up another single. It ended up as just a two run inning, but given the Rangers scored just two runs all game, that was a problem.
• Final line for Allard: 6 IP, 4 hits, 2 runs, 1 walk, 6 Ks. It was a really good outing.
• John King relieved Allard. The team said before the game that King, who was a starter in the minors, would be stretched out and used on a more regular schedule with an eye towards trying him as a starter at some point this year. King didn’t allow a hit in three innings of work.
• King did allow a run, however, the run that was the difference in the game and got him hung with an “L.” King issued a one out walk to Max Kepler in the seventh. Kepler stole second, advanced to third on a wild pitch, then ended up scoring on a wild pitch. And that was that.
• The lone Rangers runs came when Charlie Culberson walked in the bottom of the third, and then Isiah Kiner-Falefa homered. The Rangers had plenty of other opportunities to score, including in the eighth when Jonah Heim led off with a single, but the Culb popped up trying to bunt, IKF grounded out, Nate Lowe singled, but an Adolis Garcia K left the runners on base.
• Nate Lowe, Nick Solak and IKF all had two hit games. Given how Lowe and Solak have struggled of late, that’s a positive, at least.
• John King hit 94.3 mph on his sinker today. Kolby Allard topped out at 92.6.
• Nate Lowe had a 105.2 mph ground out and a 101.6 mph single, continued his recent trend of hitting the ball really hard but on the ground. Nick Solak had a 104.1 mph groundout and a 103.7 mph single. Jonah Heim had a 106.6 mph single. IKF’s homer was 104.3 mph. Adolis Garcia had a GIDP that was 104.4 mph off the bat. Willie Calhoun had a 102.2 mph groundout.
• Maybe the Rangers will win tomorrow. I hope so.