On a night when the Rangers unveiled their Nike City Connect uniforms, the team was unable to connect with much. Maybe it’s the uniform gods trying to tell us something. “Quit making up stuff we have to buy.”

Mainly, are we buying this team is really a contender?

A 4-0 lead after one inning against the worst team in baseball should be enough.

It wasn’t. 

The Rangers never scored again. And the Athletics scored, then scored again, then eventually tied it. Then, shockingly, win it with a home run in the top of the ninth.

But when you give a team, even a monumentally bad team like the Athletics, seven walks, when you commit a key error, when you get thrown out stealing three times, and when your offense shuts down after the first, you’re going to lose. 

Nothing connected.

The Rangers best chance to win was in the bottom of the eighth inning after the first two batters reached base. Then, the whole opportunity evaporated.

And, as an extra gut punch, Oakland followed that up with a solo, go-ahead home run to stun the 28,000 fans in attendance. (To Oakland, 28,000 fans is a month’s worth of attendance.)

Jon Gray didn’t have it. Jonathan Hernandez didn’t have it. The Rangers bats didn’t have it. 

Yet, they still almost won. 

Losing once to this Oakland team is embarrassing. Lose again, and it’s shameful. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen.

*****