Texas Rangers Offensive Struggles Continue, Fall to Detroit Tigers

The Texas Rangers fell further below .500 with a loss to the Detroit Tigers at Globe Life Field on Tuesday.

Jun 4, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers catcher Jonah Heim (28) injures himself on a swing during the third inning against the Detroit Tigers at Globe Life Field. / Andrew Dieb-USA TODAY Sports

So close to returning to .500 just a couple of days ago, the Texas Rangers fell three games below the mark with a 3-1 loss to the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday at Globe Life Field.

The Rangers (29-32) had another troubling game at the plate, as they managed just five hits. Two came in the ninth inning, as Ezequiel Duran singled home Josh Smith, who led off the inning with a single and scored the Rangers’ only run.

With a little more run support, Texas starter Dane Dunning might have fared a bit better. He gave up two home runs — a two-run shot to Zach McKinstry and a solo shot to Colt Keith — and that was all the Tigers (31-30) needed.

Texas got bad news on Tuesday and they’ll be without outfielder Evan Carter, who is already on the injured list, for about a month due to a stress reaction for his balky back.

1. Dunning’s Long Ball Problem

Dunning (4-4) took the loss on Tuesday and he was a victim of the home run. He went five innings and threw 84 pitches. He only allowed four hits, but two of them were home runs. He struck out four and walked one. The right-hander was effective, but not efficient given his pitch count.

It was Dunning’s third start since he returned from the injured list. In his last start against Arizona he also went five innings, but he claimed the win after allowing just three hits and no runs, while he struck out six and walked four.

2. Pushed Around At The Plate

The Rangers entered the game with a slash line of .214/.286/.353/.638 in their last 21 games, going back to May 10, a stretch that has trimmed their batting average from .258 to .243.

While the Rangers have had a bit of an upturn at the plate, which resulted in a 4-1 record last week, they only managed three hits against Tigers pitching, led by Jack Flaherty (3-4). He threw five shutout innings, giving up just two hits and striking out four.

His reliever, Alex Faedo, managed to work around 1 2/3 innings of relief in which he allowed a hit and three walks without allowing a run.

Notably, Rangers shortstop Corey Seager saw his 16-game hitting streak come to an end as he went 0-for-3. But he extended his on-base streak to 27 games with a walk.  

3. Next Up

The Rangers wrap up their series with the Tigers on Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. The Rangers will start right-hander José Ureña (1-5, 3.74) while the Tigers will counter with right-hander Kenta Maeda (2-2, 6.25).

Texas will get a day off on Thursday before resuming the homestand by opening a three-game series on Friday with the San Francisco Giants, the team current Rangers manager Bruce Bochy led to three World Series titles in 2010, 2012 and 2014.   

---

You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard

Catch up with Inside the Rangers on Facebook and Twitter.