Rangers Turn In Another 'Sloppy' Performance; Fall to Royals, 8-2

Poor hitting and abysmal defense encapsulated a "sloppy" performance by the Texas Rangers in their 8-2 loss to the Kansas City Royals.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- The Texas Rangers turned in a "sloppy" performance on Wednesday night, falling to the Kansas City Royals by a score of 8-2. The loss drops the Rangers to 12-17.

It was an ugly display by the Rangers, epitomized by four errors. Manager Chris Woodward had a hard time finding anything positive to say about his team on Wednesday night.

"There really wasn't much [that was] good," Woodward said. "There was a couple guys that pitched OK, but it was super sloppy. ... Even our at-bat quality was no where to be found."

Brad Miller and Corey Seager provided the only offense for the Rangers, as each hit solo home runs. Miller's came via pinch hit yet again, which brought the team within two runs in the sixth inning. Seager's didn't come until the ninth, after the Royals had already pulled away with a four-spot in the top half of the inning.

The Rangers registered only six hits in the game, and only had two at-bats with runners in scoring position—both of which failed. What's possibly more alarming than the volatile offense is the severe drop off in defensive play.

In three of the past five games, the Rangers have committed nine total errors. Even when the team isn't committing errors, the overall defensive play has been underwhelming.

"We've given way too many baserunners, bad plays, not backing up home plate," Woodward said. "Just sloppy, honestly."

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May 11, 2022; Arlington, Texas, USA; Kansas City Royals second baseman Whit Merrifield (15) scores ahead of the tag of Texas Rangers catcher Sam Huff (55) during the ninth inning at Globe Life Field.

Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

May 11, 2022; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers first baseman Nathaniel Lowe (30) cannot make a catch at first base as Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez (13) is ruled safe during the fifth inning at Globe Life Field.

After winning back-to-back series against the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies, the Rangers have since lost two of three to the New York Yankees and have split this series with the Royals, with the rubber match scheduled for Thursday night. The overall results haven't been as alarming as when the club started the season 2-9. However, Woodward knows his team has to play better or things could spiral out of control in a hurry.

"If we play like that, we're not going to win many games," Woodward said. "Hopefully we don't play like that very often. That was one you have to flush. We've gotta get back to the drawing board. We've gotta play better than that because that's unacceptable in the big leagues."

What's Next?

The Rangers and Royals will wrap up their three-game series at Globe Life Field on Thursday night. Texas southpaw Taylor Hearn (1-2, 6.53 ERA) is scheduled to square off with Royals right-hander Jon Heasley (0-0, -.--)