The good luck charm ran out of magic last night.

John King had been the rabbit’s foot and four-leaf clover and lucky bottle cap all in one for Rangers manager Chris Woodward.

In twelve relief appearances, King had already picked up four wins. Those four Ws, in fact, lead all Rangers pitchers. Heading into last night’s game, his 1.56 ERA was the lowest of all Rangers pitchers. 

King was having a brilliant season. So, after striking out the first two Giants batters in the seventh, it looked like King’s magic was intact. Get that third out, watch the Rangers score, pick up his fifth win. Start the road trip off with a victory. That was the plan. 

It was all lining up. Until he walked Austin Slater on a full count. Even when Darin Ruf got him for a single, it looked like he could still get out of it. But Maricio Dubon refused to go along. He fouled off six two-strike pitches until he finally poked a single to left that broke the Rangers magic spell. Charlie Culberson immediately made a throwing error on the next batter and just like that the Rangers lost 3-1. And they slid back down the backside of .500 once again.  

Get out your incantations and eyes of newt and spells. Let’s hope the magic comes back today. Because, with Jordan Lyles on the mound, the Ranger are going to need all the help they can get. Like maybe even divine intervention.

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