Ugly numbers kept piling up. Lots of ugly numbers.

Perhaps the ugliest number is 45. As in, I-45, the road to Houston. Lately, that has been the road to nowhere for the Texas Rangers.

One run is all they could manage. That came in the first inning. They suffered through eight scoreless after that.

That’s because the Rangers went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position, striking out the last four of those opportunities. Nothing kills a rally like slinking back to the dugout bat in hand.

The Rangers have now lost eleven games in a row at Minute Maid Park in Houston. 

With last night’s whimper, the Rangers are 2-23 in Houston over the past three years.

The Astros do, however, have the best record in baseball. But if the Rangers want to be good, they need to beat the team that has owned their division lately, winning the A.L. West four of the past five years.

In those same five years, the Rangers have finished last three times.

The only way to make the ugly numbers stop is to beat Houston. 

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