The Rangers ended a ten-game road trip going 4-6 after losing two of three in Seattle. 

So, after 22 games, Texas is 11-11. They finished last season 81-81. So, they’re average, and have been average for quite a while now.

Their offense is better than last year. Their rotation isn’t. When Texas signed MacKenzie Gore, all the pundits and so-called experts fell all over themselves bragging on the Rangers rotation being among the best in baseball. 

Not sure why. MacKenzie Gore was always a pitcher with more upside than he’d actually displayed. He strikes out a lot of batters, that’s for sure. But he rarely gets to go more than five innings. And he has streaks of mediocrity. He was 26-41 in his four years before coming to Texas, with a 4.19 ERA, and a whole lot of other very unimpressive numbers. Those are not the stats of an ace, or even a pitcher to worry about. Opposing teams approach a Gore start knowing they are going to take their Ks but also put up some Hs and score some Rs. 

Texas is now 2-3 in games he’s started, and like advertised, 26 innings in those five starts. Five inning per start. 

So, after the first 22 games, how has the Rangers rotation fared? Seventeenth in baseball in ERA at 4.04. (The bullpen, buy the way, is third-best in baseball at 2.91.) Individually, ERAs looks like this:

It’s a far cry from the dominating rotation the Rangers had last season. At least they are coming home to Death Valley, where nobody hits. The rotation could use the break.

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