Where is the ball? It’s just about to hit Shin-Soo Choo in the face, then land in Royals catcher Salvador Perez’s glove, who will then throw out Delino DeShields trying to advance on this wildest of pitches.

The Rangers lose three out of four to the last-place White Sox. They knocked them out of last place, allowing Chicago to pass Kansas City.

Then they win two of three over the first-place Yankees, knocking them out of first place, allowing Boston to pass New York.

Then they take on now last-place Kansas City and lose, knocking the Royals back out of last place.

As baseball heads to the all-important Memorial Day Weekend when the pennant races unofficially begin, the Rangers are making a lot of movement in the standings.

Unfortunately, it’s for other teams. They remain firmly cemented in last place, with no real challengers in the West.

Last night the Rangers returned from their brief road trip to Fantasyland, when they scored 23 runs in winning the series over the mighty Yankees, to come back to reality against the Kansas City Royals. They failed once again in every aspect.

An outfield error let in the first two runs. That was the kind of night it was going to be.

With a runner on first, a wild pitch hit the dirt, bounced up into a batter’s face, ricocheted right into the catcher’s glove, and the base runner was thrown out trying to advance. That was the kind of night it was.

The pitchers gave up eleven hits and eight runs. The batters managed five hits and two runs.

So much for momentum.

The four-game series against the Kansas City Royals, one of three teams in the American League with a lower winning percentage than the Rangers, got off to a sloppy, ugly start.

What happened to the offense that came alive against the Yankees? The reality is, this is a team full of .190 hitters. And .190 hitters do get a hit on rare occasions. Sometimes the cosmic tumblers line up just right and those .190 hitters get their rare hits at the same time, which is what happened in the Yankees series.

But then the 190ers remind us why they are 190ers. Long lapses in offense ensue. And the Rangers lose 8-2 games to the Kansas City Royals.

This team needs to win two of the next three against the Royals to save face. The face of Shin-Soo Choo has already taken enough of a beating.

*****
TODAY’S GAME:

Eric Skoglund (1-4, 6.15) vs. Mike Minor (3-3, 5.59)
Game time: 7:05

How the Royals hit against Minor.
The Rangers have never faced Skoglund.