The Texas Rangers just finished a poor road trip and look to get back on the winning track when they battle the San Francisco Giants on Monday night at Arlington, Texas.
The Rangers lost the final five games of a six-game excursion against the Tampa Bay Rays and Houston Astros.
Sunday’s 7-3 loss to the Astros was the finale of a three-game set in which Texas was outscored 23-9.
“I mean, it was ugly, and it’s not how we want to play,” Rangers first baseman Jake Burger said after Sunday’s loss.
Texas sits two games below .500 as Monday’s trade deadline arrives.
The Rangers are in second place in the American League West, 2 1/2 games behind the Astros. In the wild-card race, Texas is 1 1/2 games out and one of five teams within 2 1/2 games of the third-place Cleveland Guardians in a tight competition.
The Rangers have 50 games remaining and Burger said his club is capable of making a sustained run.
“I think we’re confident in each other,” Burger said. “Again, this sucks. This time of year is always weird, but we’ve still got two months of baseball. I think that’s something that we keep in mind as well.
“It’s not like the season ended (Sunday). Whatever happens is outside of our control regarding tomorrow. But what is in our control is how we respond tomorrow night.”
The Rangers will surely need star shortstop Corey Seager to stay healthy and be productive over the final stretch of the season.
On Sunday, the five-time All-Star went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts while playing in his third game since missing just more than a month with a back injury.
He is batting just .188 with 10 homers and 25 RBIs in 54 games. He has been on the injured list twice due to back woes and also missed time with a concussion.
The Giants could be shedding players at the deadline as they are a whopping 18 games below .500. The New York Mets and Colorado Rockies are the only National League teams having worse seasons.
Three-time batting champion Luis Arraez and left-hander Robbie Ray, a former Cy Young Award winner, could be targets of contenders.
In fact, Ray already spoke in the past sense about the Giants after beating the San Diego Padres on Thursday.
“I’ve loved my time in San Francisco,” Ray told reporters. “I love the city. It’s an awesome place to pitch. I know I’m going to miss those guys.”
Arraez, an infielder, leads the National League with a .324 batting average despite going 0-for-5 on Sunday. Ray is 10-6 with a 3.08 ERA in 22 appearances (21 starts).
The Giants fell behind 4-0 in the second inning on Sunday but later pulled within 5-4 on Rafael Devers’ solo shot in the eighth before succumbing to the Padres for the third time in four games.
Right-hander Logan Webb (6-7, 3.93 ERA) will start for the Giants in the opener of the three-game series.
Webb was the winning pitcher in San Francisco’s 16-3 rout of the Milwaukee Brewers last Wednesday. He gave up two runs and five hits over six innings.
The 29-year-old was 0-2 over his previous four starts.
Webb is 2-0 with a 1.78 ERA in four career starts against Texas.
Seager is 2-for-11 with a double against Webb. Brandon Nimmo is just 3-for-20 but has taken Webb deep once.
The Rangers haven’t announced a starter and right-hander Cal Quantrill (4-3, 3.84) is one of the possibilities.
Quantrill gave up one run and two hits over 5 1/3 innings while beating the host Tampa Bay Rays last Tuesday.
The 31-year-old is 3-1 with a 3.21 ERA in eight career starts against San Francisco.
–Field Level Media
