When you think about it, the Rangers have actually exceeded expectations this year.
They went into the season without a single quality starter. Dane Dunning had the pedigree but didn’t have enough major league experience to qualify as someone that could be counted on. The rest of the pitchers were retreads and prayers.
The fact that they were at .500 as late in the season as last week was a real surprise.
Then, reality set in, and the Rangers have now lost six in a row and are back where they are supposed to be. In last place. That reality being, if they don’t win a Gibson start or a Dunning start, they really don’t have the means to avoid prolonged losing streaks.
Losing yesterday means they have to slog through some really bad arms before they have a legitimate shot at a win again. And it’s against the Yankees.
Sad thing is, yesterday’s game was the second great Kyle Gibson start they have squandered in a row. In this surprising turnaround season, Gibson has now thrown eight straight quality starts. The Rangers have lost three of the last five of those.
They scored just two runs yesterday against Houston. In his start before that, they scored just one run against San Francisco. A couple starts before that, against the White Sox, they scored only one run.
They call Gibson the Rangers ace but, sorry, if he cannot throw a nine-inning shutout every outing, what good is he?
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TODAY’S GAME:
