After enduring a 2-5 road trip, the Texas Rangers are eager to turn things around when they open a three-game series against the Washington Nationals on Tuesday night in Arlington, Texas.
Texas, in the thick of the AL wild-card race, dropped three of four games to the Los Angeles Angels and two of three to the Athletics.
During their week of West Coast woes, the Rangers went from a half-game out in the West Division race to two games behind the Houston Astros. They’re also a half-game behind the Baltimore Orioles for the final wild-card spot.
“I don’t think anybody feels good losing two series, especially on the West Coast, when I think as a team, our expectation is to win,” said Cody Bradford, who started Sunday’s 5-2 loss in West Sacramento, Calif.
Washington has troubles of its own as it tries to remain in the NL wild-card chase. The Nationals kicked off their nine-game road trip by getting swept by the New York Mets.
New York outscored the MLB leader in runs, 13-8, in the three-game series.
Washington left-hander Jackson Kent (0-0, 6.75 ERA) opposes right-hander Cal Quantrill (4-4, 3.44) in Tuesday’s opener.
Kent, one of Washington’s top pitching prospects according to MLB Pipeline, made his major league debut on Wednesday against the Chicago Cubs. He gave up three runs on three hits over four innings while striking out six and walking five.
“I think as he settles in here, he’ll probably get some better command,” said Nationals manager Blake Butera. “I know he had five walks, that’s the one thing that stood out. But it was good to see the swing-and-miss he was able to get and the ability to limit damage.”
Quantrill has been working as both a starter and reliever of late. When Nathan Eovaldi went on the injured list, Quantrill stepped in to start against the Angels on Wednesday and gave up one run on four hits over five innings while striking out six and walking three in a no-decision.
Quantrill is 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA in four career starts versus Washington.
On Sunday, the Nationals lost for the fifth time in six games as New York held on for a 4-3 win. First baseman Abimelec Ortiz hit a solo home run, his fifth long ball over his first 14 MLB games. The 24-year-old Puerto Rico native has 12 hits in 40 at-bats (.300).
CJ Abrams, however, continues to struggle. With Luis Garcia and Curtis Mead traded shortly before the Aug. 3 deadline and James Wood on the injured list since Aug. 4, opposing pitchers have been able to focus on Abrams. He is hitting .197 with a homer and eight RBIs in August, including an 0-for-10 stretch against the Mets with two walks and one hit-by-pitch.
“Obviously, CJ has been huge for us all the way up to this point, and will continue to be throughout the rest of the way,” Butera said. “It stands out more, obviously, with losing guys like Luis, Curtis and ‘Woody’ being out. It magnifies it that much more. … We just need some other guys to step up in that spot.”
The Rangers were tied 2-2 after three innings on Sunday but the A’s won the series finale, 5-2. Jake Burger had three hits, including a home run, and drove in both Texas runs. He was 5-for-10 with two homers and five RBIs in the series.
“It’s not time to hit a panic button because at the end of the day, it’s what it looks like (37) games from now,” Burger said. “It’s not what it looks like right now.”
–Field Level Media
