So, after twenty-two games, do the Rangers officially have a bullpen dilemma?

Tied 2-2 against the much more superior Atlanta Braves, the Rangers went to their bullpen after Nathan Eovaldi struggled finding the strike zone and piled up a pitch count. But, being the ace he is, even though he had issued six walks, a hit batter, and five basehits in 5.1 innings, he had allowed only three runs.

But then manager Bruce Bochy did something curious and quite telling. He brought in starter Jon Gray instead of any of the alleged usual suspects.

Gray came into the game with one out in the sixth and two runners on. He struck out the two batters he faced in the sixth, along with two of the three batters he retired in the seventh.

Then, still behind 3-2, Bochy didn’t go with this A bullpen (Robertson and Yates, the only two arms he can count on), he brought in another one from the Goon Squad, Austin Pruitt. He immediately gave up a two-run homer to the suddenly Hall of Fame-caliber Travis d’Arnauld to put the game out of reach.

Maybe in bringing in Jon Gray in that situation Bochy was sending a not so subtle message to his generally manager: Send help. Immediately. We are stranded on a desert island with no bullpen to rescue us. 

Bochy had to suffer through this for 162 games last year.

It seems, after only twenty-two this year, he has had enough.

*****

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