DeShields and Gallo avoid a collision, and the ball.

What we have here is failure to communicate.

That famous line from “Cool Hand Luke” was appropriate for the Rangers last night as well. Lack of communication between Delino DeShields in center and Joey Gallo in left on one play, and DeSheids and Odor on another, allowed a couple of balls drop in that shouldn’t have.

DeShields said it best after the game: “Some of those balls should have been caught, you know? They were outs.”

Only, they weren’t.

What ended up happening, though, was a near collisions between DeShields and Odor on a ball dumped into short center, with DeShields, at the last minute, diving to try to catch the ball and to try to avoid running smack into an oncoming Odor.

The ball dropped and so did DeShields, his head hitting the ground awkwardly. He left the game, fortunately on his own two feet, to have his neck and shoulder evaluated. And after hitting his head on the turf, chances are pretty good he will have to undergo the concussion protocol and miss seven days. The upcoming All-Star break will help.

Fortunately, that dropped ball turned into an out when the runner got nailed trying to advance. The Rangers weren’t so lucky on the other occassion an inning earlier. The ball Gallo and DeShields almost collided on in the fifth turned what should have been the final out of the inning into a run scoring triple, making the score 4-0.

It was a sloppy night all around. With a runner at first, Bartolo Colon airmailed a pickoff attempt, moving the runner at second, who scored when Odor dropped a pop up.

To make matters worse, Texas struck out an embarrassing eighteen times, four for Gallo and four for Ryan Rua. It especially killed them in the top of the eighth. After already scoring two runs to cut the deficit to 4-2, one from a bases loaded walk to the prior batter, Gallo struck out to leave them loaded, and end any comeback chances.

Two errors. Two misplays. Eighteen strikeouts. It all added up to the Rangers being swept away at the house of horrors known as Fenway.

The Rangers have a day off today. Which is appropriate after the off night they had.

*****
NO GAME TODAY.