Rangers let them off the hook.


Jake Burger’s three-run homer wasn’t enough to overcome the Athletics.

Someone needs to sue Major League Baseball for false advertising. Sacramento is billed as a hitters’ park, but the Rangers haven’t found that to be true.

Or, maybe, just maybe, the Rangers aren’t a hitters’ roster.

Sacramento starter J.T. Ginn tried to give the Rangers a golden opportunity in the second. Knowing the team is struggling with offense, he walked the bases loaded with one out. But this present came with a gift receipt, and the Rangers didn’t accept it. 

Danny Jansen grounded into a double play. Rally dead. Gift squandered. 

When Ginn walked Brandon Nimmo in the third, Corey Seager finally made him pay, hitting a game-tying two-run homer. 

The offense went into hibernation from that point. One-two-three in the fourth. One-two-three in the fifth. A harmless one-out single in the sixth. A two-out single in the seventh. 

By time the eighth inning rolled around, Texas had just three hits and were down 6-2. 

With two on, Jake Burger launched a three-run homer to give the Rangers life. But it was too little, too late. The went out meekly in the ninth, losing to the Athletics 6-5.

Carter, Pederson, Jung, and Smith—the four, five, six, and seven hitters in the lineup—went 0-for-11. It’s hard for a team to overcome a deep hole like that. 

This was a team with a serious offensive deficiency the past two seasons. The additions of Brandon Nimmo and Danny Jansen were not enough to overcome that. They need to find another bat. 

*****