It's been a frustrating season for the defending World Series champion Texas Rangers and emotions boiled over again for manager Bruce Bochy on Tuesday night. Bochy earned his fifth ejection of 2024 in the sixth inning of the Rangers' 9-4 loss to the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.
It happened with the Red Sox clinging to a 6-4 lead and the Rangers threatening with the bases loaded. That's when Boston pitcher Lucas Sims struck out Rookie of the Year candidate Wyatt Langford looking on a pitch that appeared well outside the strike zone. Bochy came out to argue and home plate umpire Erich Bacchus promptly tossed him.
“This kid’s gotten the bad end of those calls too many times,” Bochy told Bally Sports Southwest after the game. “It’s just gotten old and it’s hard to tell from our dugout, but I know he was frustrated…I’m just tired of him getting the bad end of those calls. It’s a big call. It changes the count, bases loaded, puts a little more pressure on the pitcher, but the call went their way.”
That call ended the inning and the Rangers didn't score again as the Red Sox tacked on three more in the eighth.
It was the Rangers' third loss in four games on their east coast road trip and their 12th loss in their last 16 games, effectively ending any hope at another postseason appearance.
Putting the Rangers 2024 free fall into perspective
There are plenty of numbers to show how bad the Rangers have been since the last time they won a series (July 22-25 vs. the White Sox).
To start, the pitching has been terrible. The Rangers have the worst staff ERA in the game since July 26 (6.33) and the second-most walks per nine innings (3.75). Their starters alone have posted a 7.08 ERA in that time.
They're also not hitting.
The Rangers are batting .225 as a team since July 26, good for 26th out of 30 Major League teams. Their 81 wRC+ in that span ranks 28th and their .286 wOBA ranks 29th.
Marcus Semien is hitting only .207 in that time with five extra-base hits in his last 65 plate appearances. Josh Smith has been even worse with a .191 average, 15 strikeouts, and three extra-base hits in 68 plate appearances.
The Rangers have made it a habit of not scoring early in games. Tuesday was the 25th time this season that they have failed to score in the first five innings.
“We’d love to get some runs early and play with the lead,” Bochy told the Dallas Morning News after Texas lost to the Yankees on Sunday. “That’s a lot easier to do than trying to fight and come from behind. But it’s a little bit of a rut that we’re in. We’ve talked about it. If we had a silver bullet about why, we’d definitely do something about it.”
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