Inconceivabler!!...Rangers Lose Third Straight to Devil Rays
| 7
|
by user ASwaff
Quick - what’s even more inconceivable than losing two in a row to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays?
Answer: losing three in a row to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays! It’s so far out of the realm of reasonability that I had to make up a word to describe it. Someday it will be in Wikipedia, you’ll see...
"Inconceivabler - So far out of the realm of likelihood that it exceeds the inconceivable (ie - losing three straight games to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays)."
But what’s truly horrifying is that tonight's 7-3 loss means the Texas Rangers are very suddenly facing a Bostonian chance of being swept in a four game series against the mighty D-Rays of Tampa. Forget the division title - they’re just playing for pride now. Now they just need to be focused on saving face and getting back to Arlington with a measure of self-respect.
You have to say this for the Rangers, though - at least they’re consistent. Three games, and in every one, they have scored three runs. Doesn’t matter how many hits or walks they have, or as was the case tonight, how many errors their opponents have (it was three), they score three runs.
Tonight they all came in the sixth inning when the Rangers were already in a 3-0 hole. Two of the runs came on a Mark Teixeira home run, his 21st of the season.
Perhaps related to this new losing bug is the strikeout bug the Rangers seem to have caught. For the second night in a row, the D-Rays put up double-digit Ks against the Rangers. Last night it was 13, and tonight it was 12. Tonight’s offensive dud award goes to the 8th spot in the lineup. It was a combined effort tonight. Nelson Cruz went 0-3 with two strikeouts, and then Gary Matthews struck out in the ninth inning as a pinch-hitter for Cruz. So, they combined to go 0-4 with three strikeouts.
Swinging the hot stick for Tampa tonight was Jorge Cantu. You thought I was going to say Greg Norton, didn’t you? Cantu went 3-4 with two doubles and a homerun, amounting to one run scored and three RBI. Two of his three hits came off Kevin Millwood, who got battered again for six earned runs over 6.1 innings.
A new, clean-shaven Millwood was pitching okay through five innings, but totally fell apart after the Rangers scored their three runs to tie the game. He allowed the go-ahead run in the bottom of the sixth, and two more insurance runs in the seventh inning before getting yanked.
I hate to say it, but don’t hold your breath for tomorrow’s game, Rangers fans. Robinson Tejeda takes the mound in the final matchup before the Rangers head home to face the Oakland Athletics in a series that looks a lot less pivotal than it did a week ago. Tejeda will face Tim Corcoran at 6:15 CST.
- FOR MORE RANGERS NEWS AND OPINIONS, VISIT BASEBALL TIME IN ARLINGTON
Date
Wed 08/23/06, 10:47 pm EST
