Bochy: 'Too early' to sound alarm on Rangers' 'pen

ARLINGTON -- It felt almost like deja vu at Globe Life Field on Tuesday night.

Rangers ace Nathan Eovaldi dealt 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball, Marcus Semien had a two-hit day and rookie sensation Evan Carter launched a go-ahead home run. But what really made it feel like the 2023 regular season was the worst part: a blown save.

The Rangers fell, 4-3, to the A's to open the three-game set due to a huge night from Oakland catcher Shea Langeliers, who singlehandedly provided all the run support with homers off Eovaldi, David Robertson and José Leclerc.

Langeliers’ home run off Leclerc was a go-ahead two-run shot in the top of the ninth, handing Texas its first loss when leading after eight innings this season.

To add to the familiar feeling, Texas’ offense outhit the A's, 7-5, but went just 1-for-4 with runners in scoring position as the Rangers attempted to extend their lead at multiple points throughout the night.

"He singlehandedly beat us,” manager Bruce Bochy said of Langeliers. “I mean, three home runs, there's no getting around that. He took advantage of some mistakes, and we couldn’t tack on a little bit more to maybe get it out of reach. Pitching, Nate, what a job he did. Another terrific job to hold them there. … But we just ran into a guy that had a huge night.”

Eovaldi has only allowed three earned runs over his first three starts this season, good for a 1.45 ERA in 18 2/3 innings of work as he delivered his third straight quality start.

His lone mistake came in the second inning, when Langeliers drove a splitter near the middle of the zone a Statcast-projected 404 feet into the left-field bleachers for his first homer of the night.

"He went out there and he did his job,” Eovaldi said. “He had the big hits and everything. … For him as a hitter, he's aggressive on that first pitch inside. I think it came down to the way we attacked. I threw that first-pitch curveball and he swung aggressively. I wanted to make sure that I buried the splitter, but I didn't. I hung it and he hit it out."

Langeliers’ second homer was the first run that Robertson has given up in his debut season with the Rangers, having tossed 5 2/3 scoreless prior to the matchup with the A’s.

“It’s tough,” Robertson said. “He's a good hitter. I wish I threw something else. It sucks, especially because Evo threw so well and we had a chance to really lock it down together as a bullpen and we just didn't make enough quality pitches. It's a tough one to swallow. It’s a tough loss today, but we’ve got another game tomorrow. You’ve gotta suck it up. These games are going to happen. We’ll pull it together tomorrow and get a win."

Leclerc said the pitch he threw to Langeliers was up and in, when he wanted it more up and away. And while he missed that spot, what made that final dagger worse was the walk to Seth Brown ahead of him, representing the tying run.

Bochy said throughout Spring Training that Leclerc would be the Rangers’ first option at closer, but the right-hander has allowed at least one run in four of his first five outings so far this season. He said he feels better now than he did during his first two outings against the Cubs, when he allowed one run and four runs, respectively, but he still needs to refine his mechanics in order to be as effective as possible.

“He's healthy, he's fine,” Bochy said. “He’s probably not quite as locked in, that’s all. He’s looked really good at times, really good on some hitters. You saw the strikeouts. He just let the pitch get away from him. I think he's walking a few more, similar to last year early. The walks hurt him, and so it gets back to just not being quite as sharp with the command.”

The Rangers’ bullpen struggles last season were well-documented. Texas finished 24th in MLB in bullpen ERA (4.77) in the regular season, while going just 30-for-63 (47.6 percent) in save opportunities.

For Bochy, he’s not yet concerned that this will be a continuing issue throughout the season like it was in 2023.

“We’re just over a week here into the season,” Bochy said. “These guys, with what they've done, no, I don't have concern. You stay behind them. They're human, they're gonna make some mistakes. That's a part of the game, but no. … Now, it's too early to be concerned.”