Rangers optimistic: 'These guys don’t quit'

Right-hander Jordan Lyles is one guy that has given the Rangers innings this year. But this time, he didn’t go deep into the 10-6 loss to Cleveland on Thursday.

Texas ended up losing two out of three games against Cleveland and now heads home to Arlington to play a three-game series against Houston.

“We got a little unlucky at times, [but] we were consistent [offensively] from one through nine,” manager Chris Woodward said.

At first, it looked like Lyles was going to be out of the game in the first inning as the Indians erupted for four runs. Bradley Zimmer highlighted the scoring with a two-run homer that traveled 465 feet, per Statcast.

But one thing you can say about the Rangers is that they give 100 percent effort under Woodward. Texas showed that by tying the score at 4 off left-hander Sam Hentges by the third inning in the form of two runs in both the second and third innings. Nathaniel Lowe highlighted the scoring with an RBI double in the second.

“[Woody’s positive attitude] feeds off on us -- to continue to stay positive, continue to work and get better. It just feeds off on the guys,” said second baseman Nick Solak.

Solak and DJ Peters added solo homers in the sixth and eighth, but the Rangers went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position, stunting any opportunity at a comeback.

“[Effort] is something we pride ourselves on no matter what our team looks like or how we are playing or where we are in the standings,” Woodward said. “That reveals who you are as a team, your true character. These guys don’t quit. Even when they get beat, they are still fighting in the end. They are still battling.”

Lyles was out of the game by the fourth inning after allowing four more runs. He ended up going 3 2/3 frames, allowing eight runs on nine hits as his ERA rose to 5.70. Lyles is known to use his breaking ball in order to get the hitters off the barrel, but that wasn’t the case on Thursday.

“The spin wasn’t the same. I don’t know if that was from the baseball, the weather, I don’t know,” Woodward said. “The life at the end of the pitch just wasn’t there that we had seen, especially from the sliders or breaking balls. It just didn’t have the same bite. Some of those pitches just stayed in the middle of the plate. They obviously were taking pretty good swings as a result.”

While he doesn’t think Lyles has had a bad year, Woodward believes the right-hander has made adjustments to get better.

“At times he has been inconsistent and nights like tonight have made this year worse. He has actually pitched pretty well for us as of late,” Woodward said.