'I Know How Good Our Team Is': Rangers' Gray Not Worried About 2-8 Start

The Texas Rangers are off to their worst start since 1987. But don't tell Jon Gray that.

Chris Halicke | Apr 20, 2022

The Texas Rangers are 2-8. It's the worst start in the first 10 games of a season for the franchise since going 1-9 to start the 1987 campaign.

A revamped offense has been better than its 2021 counterpart, but that's not saying much considering that offense finished near the bottom of Major League Baseball in every major category. The pitching has failed to live up to even low expectations. The Rangers rank last in all of baseball with a 6.24 ERA and have allowed an MLB-high 21 home runs thus far.

After the team's fourth straight loss in Seattle on Tuesday night, starting pitcher Jon Gray was hard on himself for a rough start that put the team in an early 4-run hole. However, Gray also exuded confidence about the team going forward.

"I don't want our team to get down," Gray said. "Things are going to get better for us. I know how good our team is. I'm not worried at all. I'm not worried one bit. We're really good. And that's going to show before too long."

Gray is most likely right about one thing. The team isn't as bad as their 2-8 record suggests. Their pythagorean record is 4-6, and the Rangers have been competitive in six of their eight losses.

Even is Tuesday night's loss, the Rangers did a lot of things right. Some was unlucky while some was the lack of execution in big spots. After all, all six of Seattle's runs scored on just three swings of the bat. In the grand scheme of things, it's the kind of loss manager Chris Woodward can live with.

"Today was a step forward in a lot of ways," Woodward said. "I know we lost, and it sucks to lose. But we played a better game. At least, we kept fighting."

Pitching was always going to be the biggest issue with the 2022 Rangers. The major complication of a truncated spring training did the team no favors, handcuffing an already limited staff.

As the Rangers begin to make their way through the starting rotation for the third time, it should help take some pressure off the bullpen. Event though it was only his second start of the season, Gray was able to right the ship after giving up four runs in two innings by retiring 10 straight hitters and logging five innings with only 77 pitches. Next time, Gray will be given more leeway in terms of a pitch count.

Even the bullpen is already going through changes as veteran reliever Greg Holland was designated for assignment prior to Tuesday's game. He was on the club long enough to achieve 10 years of Major League service time, which is a huge milestone for players since it guarantees them the maximum pension at retirement.

On the offensive side, Marcus Semien is showing signs of coming around with the bat after a frigid start to the season. His outs are now typically hard-hit balls and he drove in both of the Rangers' runs on Tuesday night.

Signs of life are there. The biggest question surrounding the team is if and when the pitching will sort itself out. Perhaps Gray's start on Tuesday can be a representation of what is to come: a really bad start followed by a gutsy effort to salvage the campaign and give the team a fighting chance.

Published Apr 20, 2022

CHRIS HALICKE