Joey Gallo’s 18th home run of the year, a 466-foot blast, cut the lead to just eleven runs.

Nobody expected the Rangers to go undefeated for this road trip. Not against the Nationals and Astros.

So you can look at the Rangers 13-2 butt kicking as another pitiful performance for a team that is going nowhere.

Or you can say, it was just one loss in a six-game road trip in which we saw surprisingly strong starting pitching and timely hitting and air tight defense from a team that is struggling to find its any of those things on a consistent basis.

Jeremey Jeffress didn’t have it last night. But in his past five games, spanning 7.2 innings, he’s given up just one run. So, he’s been pretty solid of late. Every reliever is due a blip on the radar.

Tony Barnette, on the other hand, has been struggling mightily of late. Five earned runs in his last 4.1 innings before last night. Three more runs without getting an out last night. His blips are coming at Sam Dyson frequency of late.

Every team is due a bad game from time to time. Yes, the Rangers have had more than their share this year. But to come back from that road trip 5-1 is remarkable.

With six games against the Nationals and Astros, most fans would have been satisfied if they came back 1-5.

*****
NO GAME TODAY.