Rangers still seeking solutions as ASG nears

ARLINGTON -- The starting position players for the 2024 MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard were announced on Wednesday night, just before first pitch between the Rangers and Padres at Globe Life Field.

The reigning World Series champion Rangers -- who had five starters in the Midsummer Classic last year -- had only one finalist this time around. Marcus Semien was edged out by Astros second baseman Jose Altuve.

Semien, a two-time starter at second base, went hitless in the Rangers’ 6-4 loss to the Padres. He has a slash line of just .195/.280/.280 over his past 30 games.

Though Semien is not the lone reason for the Rangers’ struggles this season, he’s a clear representation of the ups and downs of a title defense that might be falling short before their eyes.

“His timing is off, there’s no getting around that,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. “I think that's fair to say. He's done this before, and he comes out of it. He's one of our guys, and you stay behind them. That’s what you do, especially in our situation.

“We need him right now. So we're going to stick behind him. He handles everything so well. We like his presence out there. But every hitter, just like pitchers, have their times when they're off a little bit. That's the case with him right now.”

The Rangers’ offense has recently come out of its hole, collecting 26 extra-base hits over the past four games. That’s the club’s most extra-base hits in a four-game span since Sept. 4-8, 2017.

The Rangers held a 4-2 lead after four innings on Wednesday, but the Padres came back to outscore the Rangers, 4-0, over the final five innings. Part of that is due to the fact the Texas bullpen had to cover all five of those innings.

Rangers starter Jon Gray’s recent rough stretch continued, as he failed to record an out in the fifth inning. He allowed a single and a walk to begin the frame. Gray’s final line included three runs on seven hits and two walks, and he did not factor into the decision.

“When Johnny's good, like any pitcher, he's getting it where he wants,” Bochy said. “Right now, he's making some mistakes in the middle of the plate. The walks will come back to get you, too.

“He's battling that a bit. So, like I said, we're going to get him back to where he was. Everybody goes through their little struggles at times, but he battled to keep us in the game. He was working hard out there, and it felt like it was time to go get him.”

Gray was understandably frustrated with his outing.

“I don’t even know what to say,” he told reporters.

Over his first 13 games (11 starts) this season, Gray had a 2.17 ERA. But Gray has now allowed 20 earned runs across his past four starts (18 innings). That’s even including six scoreless innings in a win over the Royals on June 22.

“I'm just frustrated,” Gray said. “I’m not really helping the team the last couple times out. So, yeah, it's just weighing down on me a little bit. It's frustrating, because it doesn't feel exactly quite the same as when things were going good.

“You feel like you're right there, but there's something you're doing. It can be so small, but it is making a big difference. I’m still trying to pinpoint what that is.”