Thoughts on a 5-1 Rangers loss

Astros 5, Rangers 1

• Thus endeth the winning streak.
• It could’ve been worse. Early on in the game, I feared this was going to be one of those really bad Glenn Otto outings, after he started the game by allowing a leadoff double, and followed it up by a wild pitch and then a HBP. Two runs scored in the first off Otto, and it would have been more had Alex Bregman not been thrown out at third base for the second out. Otto allowed two more hits in the second, but escaped with no runs scoring when, on a two out Jose Altuve single that was kept in the infield, the Rangers caught Jose Siri rounding third way too far and ended up getting him for the third out.
• But Otto settled down. He wasn’t dominant — he fanned only two Astros, while walking three — but didn’t allow any runs after the two run first, and he qualified for a Quality Start by going six innings. He once again went with a five pitch mix, using his fastball and his sinker in roughly equal amounts, and got 12 whiffs out of 96 pitches. He turned what could have been a bullpen-killing disaster into a good start.
• It didn’t matter, though, because the Rangers offense was ass. The Rangers scored a run in the first on a walk and a pair of singles, then accumulated just one walk and four hits the rest of the game. They only got a runner as far as third on one occasion after the first inning, that coming when Marcus Semien doubled with two outs in the fifth and then stole third.
• The final six Ranger batters of the game struck out swinging. Bleah.
• Given all that, the fact that, after a clean seventh inning, Josh Sborz loaded the bases in the eighth, and then all three runners scored when Matt Moore allowed a Martin Maldonado double, really was kind of moot.
• Glenn Otto maxed out at 94.7 mph on both his fastball and his sinker. Josh Sborz hit 97.9 mph with his fastball. Matt Moore reached 95.4 mph with his fastball.
• Jonah Heim had a flyout at 105.5 mph. Corey Seager had a groundout at 101.0 mph. That was it for 100+ exit velocity balls in play for the Rangers, although I guess I will note that the Astros also only had two 100+ batted balls.
• Hopefully the Rangers score more than one run on Friday. Let’s cross our fingers.