Nobody ever promised being a Rangers fan was going to be easy. They won the World Series last year but didn’t make it into the playoffs until the last day of the season, then had to pretty much do the impossible and win games on the road.

Yesterday was a reminder.

As of now, the Rangers have six bona fide starters on the I.L. Dane Dunning is the newest to join, along with Max Scherzer, Nathan Eovaldi, Jacob deGrom, Cody Bradford, and Tyler Mahle. 

That means guys who should be in the bullpen are pressed into the rotation. And guys who shouldn’t be in the major leagues are pressed into the bullpen.

The Rangers bullpen has three reliable arms. Okay, now two. Josh Sborz came off the I.L. just a few days ago and might be headed back after walking off the field in the fifth inning, having given up a walk, and a 3-1 count to a second Athletics hitter. 

So, now, the bullpen gets even more taxed. 

The rotation, as it stands now, is Jon Gray, Andrew Heaney, Michael Lorenzen, Jack Leiter, and either Owen White or Jose Ureña. 

Because of all of that, Cole Winn is needed. He’s not wanted, but he’s needed. Same with Jose Leclerc. And Jonathan Hernandez and Yerry Rodriguez.

But as the Rangers supply of arms keeps dwindling, the Rangers are going to have more innings where they give up four runs in the bottom of the ninth and turn a comfortable blowout into a nail biting nailbiter. 

Thankfully, the bats have come alive just as the arms are falling off. Now, it’s a race to see if the bats can stay hot long enough for some of this pitching to come off the I.L. 

It’s going to be a bumpy ride. 

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