The Texas Rangers were one of Major League Baseball’s best in the first half. But a late slide has sent the Rangers down the proverbial chute. They’re 24-24 in the second half, and after a 52-39 start, that won’t be good enough.
Especially not if the Rangers want to make the playoffs. Right now, after their 12-3 loss to the Astros Wednesday night, they’re officially out of a playoff spot. The Toronto Blue Jays jumped into the third American League Wild Card spot. The first two are occupied by the Tampa Bay Rays and the Seattle Mariners, whose second-half surge usurped the Rangers.
Texas has lost five of their last six, six of their last seven, and are 4-15 dating back to August 16.
The loss didn’t make anybody happy, as a look at the Rangers’ mentions following their loss was as grim as they come.
— Texas Rangers (@Rangers) September 7, 2023
Fans were furious with the way the team has handled themselves down the stretch. It likely didn’t help matters that Max Scherzer, who the Rangers acquired at the trade deadline, started Wednesday night’s game and didn’t come close to finishing it. He allowed seven earned runs in three innings, a dreadful performance, to put it mildly.
Texas will have a lot of work to do to try and get it together quickly. They have a huge series with Toronto next week in Canada and then two series with the Mariners, including a four-gamer to end the season.
The MLB world had plenty to say after the Rangers’ latest brutal loss.
I think everytime I see a Rangers final score they get double digits dropped on them by the Astros https://t.co/zcvlvbCnuq
— Alextrubbish (@RealTrubbish) September 7, 2023
Despicable. I should change my username. These “pros” have lost 15 of 19 including being outscored 39-10 in a 3 game sweep as the Astros blew past them in the West and, as of tonight, have fallen out of the playoffs entirely. They’ve all inexcusably quit. #StraightUpTX https://t.co/x4ZGvHla3q
— Daniel Kure (@rangerfandan) September 7, 2023
What happened
How did we fall off this hard bro https://t.co/vKLf3DWP2y
— Wyatt Langford Enthusiast (@HornsFanN8) September 7, 2023
You should’ve known. You all should’ve known https://t.co/UYti2PHqnS pic.twitter.com/gZVr0uESrF
— Buzzy 🎸 (@buzzyhoops) September 7, 2023
I don't understand. The insurmountable 6.5 game lead in June. All those All-Stars. Winning the trade deadline. https://t.co/3n93Pbamcf
— JEFTEX 🏴☠️ (@_farrelltex_) September 7, 2023
About Chris Novak
Chris Novak has been talking and writing about sports ever since he can remember. Previously, Novak wrote for and managed sites in the SB Nation network for nearly a decade from 2013-2022