Scherzer's rough start latest snag for spiraling Rangers

ARLINGTON -- Boos rained down at Globe Life Field in the eighth inning on Saturday night as Baltimore’s 11th hit fell in front of Rangers right fielder Adolis García

Maybe the boos were for García, though manager Bruce Bochy believes he couldn’t have caught it. Maybe it was because the Rangers, for a second straight game, were clobbered by Baltimore’s electric offense, falling, 8-4, to drop the first series out of the break. Maybe it was just because nothing has really gone right for Texas this season.

Whatever the reason, the boos rained down.

And when it rains, it pours.

That’s been the theme of the 2024 season for the Texas Rangers. From an influx of injuries to an inconsistent offense to an inability to string wins together, nothing has gone well for the reigning World Series champs this year.

On Saturday night, Max Scherzer added to that list of shortcomings

Making his sixth start since coming off the injured list, Scherzer couldn’t make it to the third inning. The 39-year-old right hander labored through 53 pitches in two innings, allowing four runs on two walks and five hits.

From the start, his fastball velocity was about a mile and a half below average. That’s not usually an issue for Scherzer, but the Orioles were on top of him from pitch No. 1. It quickly went downhill from there.

Scherzer said he felt a little arm fatigue, and it was affecting his stuff and location. That was the biggest reason the Rangers didn’t want to push it and potentially injure him. Neither him, nor Bochy sounded concerned, but it was an obvious blow when every game is a must win for the Rangers right now.

“The good news is that I didn’t have any zings, I didn’t strain anything,” Scherzer said. “So hopefully with this reduced outing, this kind of gives me a blow and allows me to get back out there as soon as possible.

“There are times when you're not 100 percent out there and you can go out there and find a way to navigate and you can pitch and you can get through lineups. I’ve done that many times. I was just kind of hoping that if I got deeper into the ballgame, my arm would respond and I’d be able to make it through. But it just wasn't.”

Scherzer added that he threw a bullpen while at home in Florida during the All-Star break. He felt like he would be fine coming into his first start of the second half, but he couldn’t make it work without risking further injury.

Said Bochy: “We talked about [Scherzer going back out], but I said, ‘No that’s enough.’ We’ve got to keep him healthy and fresh. I’ll say this, we always check to see how they're doing the next day and how they came out of it, but I think he's going to be fine.”

But despite what Scherzer was able to give the Rangers Saturday, it doesn’t matter much when the offense remains inconsistent. Corey Seager and Marcus Semien have looked more like themselves lately, but Wyatt Langford and Adolis García remain in extended slumps. The designated hitter position has been a weakness all season long. Josh Smith is the only lineup regular that has remained consistent throughout the campaign.

Pitching may win championships, but you still need to score to win. The Rangers haven’t done a lot of that this year.

On Saturday, Texas scored four runs on six hits, both of which were more than Friday night's series opening loss. It felt like the offense had a bit more life, but it was mostly too little, too late.

“I really thought they did a good job there at the end and they were trying to get back in it,” Bochy said of the offense. “We got the tying run on deck a couple of times in the last couple of innings. Their guy [Grayson Rodriguez] threw well, he's got good stuff. But yeah it was an uphill climb.”