Texas has gone stone cold at the plate, flailing wildly and coming up short with runners on. The Rangers are now 15 for their last 90 with runners in scoring position. Needless to say, hitting .167 with RISP isn't going to get it done, especially in Texas where the ballpark forces you to be an offensively-geared unit.
Last night in Arizona, the offensive struggles continued as D-backs starter Max Scherzer tied the Rangers offense up to the tune of two runs on eight hits with seven strikeouts. Texas was 2-for-9 with men in scoring position.
Hitting Coach Rudy Jaramillo thinks the hitters are putting too much pressure on themselves.
"There's too much going on in their minds to execute," said Jaramillo. "I see all these things, but once we learn to relax, we're going to stop swinging at pitches we can't hit. I wouldn't throw us a strike right now either. We need to relax, clear our minds, breathe slow and trust our ability."
Matt Harrison did nothing to help the offense, allowing four runs within the first two innings of the game, putting Texas in the hole early. After all was said and done, Harrison lasted just 3 2/3 innings, giving up seven runs.
"He wasn't very sharp tonight," manager Ron Washington said. "He just didn't have it."
"I'm very frustrated," Harrison said. "A terrible performance. I walked too many guys, I fell behind too many guys and I was missing up in the zone. We needed a good start tonight and I didn't give it to them. Very disappointing."
The comic relief moment of the night came in the 6th inning when catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia overthrew pitcher Jason Jennings when tossing the ball back to the mound in-between pitches. No one on the infield noticed, allowing a runner fron 3rd base to score.
Texas is now 7-12 in June.
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