Rangers Face Left-Handed Pitchers Four Times in Five Games
ARLINGTON — The Rangers on Friday faced a lefty. Faced one Wednesday, too. In fact, they’ve faced lefties four times in the last five games. Almost seems like it’s a trend or something. It will be that way until the Rangers can prove it’s not a distinct advantage for an opponent to throw a lefty – any lefty – at them.
Maybe, though, the Rangers are finally starting to do something to change the narrative a bit. On Friday, with switch-hitting Sam Haggerty back atop the line to start fires, the Rangers beat Atlanta 8-3 to win for the third time in a week against a lefty. A key element on Friday was getting Haggerty, who is torching lefties, back atop the lineup after a 10-day IL stint.
Sam Haggerty’s Impact on the Game
He had a pair of hits, stole a base, advanced on a wild pitch, scored a run and drove in another. Most of that was in the first inning. Nice return. “He’s a pest,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said of Haggerty as a compliment. “Getting Sam back, that’s big. It’s all about doing something, battling up there, putting it in play, things like that.
He just gives you really nice, quality at-bats [against lefties]. That’s the kind of player he is.” It also may not matter which hand a pitcher throws with right now. The Rangers are legitimately hot, creating just enough offense to make their sensational starting pitching stand out even better.
Rangers’ Recent Performance
In winning seven of their last nine games, the Rangers have allowed a total of 12 runs. On Friday, Nathan Eovaldi came back from a sore back to pitch five shutout innings and lower his ERA to 1.50. It moved the Rangers to four games above .500 (54-50), the highest point they’ve seen since April.
It puts them a half-game back of Boston for the final wild card spot. And, holy moly, at six games back of Houston in the AL West with six games still to play against the Astros, it’s not smart to overlook the division race, either. Despite all this, the Rangers numbers against lefties are still under water.
Struggles Against Left-Handed Pitchers
With the win, they are 9-17 against lefties, the third-worst record against lefties in the majors. The Rangers began play Friday tied for last in batting average (.222) against lefty starters, last in OBP (.277), last in slugging (.335) and last in OPS (.613).
On that last slash category, they were last by a whopping 24 points. “I think the quality of at-bat can get a little bit better,” Bochy said of facing lefty starters before the game. “Especially with two strikes. But I also think you have to be a little bit fair, we’ve faced some pretty good lefties, too.
We faced [Tarik] Skubal the other day. And we’ve had some success against some guys, like [the Los Angeles Angels’ Yusei] Kikuchi. We’ve had some good at-bats there.” True enough, Skubal is the best pitcher in the big leagues, lefty or righty. And the Rangers have lost to him twice.
Rangers’ Right-Handed Hitters Struggle
But he’ll also be an obstacle any team will have to go through in the playoffs. As are the likes of Carlos Rodón, Max Fried, Framber Valdez and likely Garrett Crochet. Against that quintet, the Rangers are 0-6, hitting .184, have managed 8 runs (one unearned) in 37 ⅔ innings and don’t have a homer.
They haven’t faced Fried yet, but may get both he and Rodon when the Yankees come to Arlington early next month and they have two series left with Houston, which means two more dates against Valdez. The issue isn’t so much the Rangers’ left-handed hitters against lefties.
Evan Carter has mostly sat. It’s that the right-handed hitters are so far off their career numbers it gives Bochy nowhere to turn. Consider that Jake Burger, brought in to club lefties, is hitting just .214 against them, 40 points below his previous career line.
The Rangers optioned Jung to the minors to improve the swing decisions that caused him significant issues during the season’s first half.
The Rangers are reinserting one of their biggest offseason acquisitions into the lineup.
Texas’ steady second baseman overcame a scary moment early in the game to come up clutch in extra innings.
Conclusion
The Rangers are working to improve their performance against left-handed pitchers. With the help of players like Sam Haggerty, they are starting to show signs of improvement. However, they still have a long way to go to overcome their struggles against lefties.
FAQs
Q: How have the Rangers performed against left-handed pitchers this season?
A: The Rangers have struggled against left-handed pitchers, with a 9-17 record and poor batting
