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Only three teams this year in the majors, have had losing streaks of a dozen or longer, and two of them face off in Arlington tonight. The D-backs, of course, have managed the feat twice, going 13 winless in May, before blowing that away the following month, losing 17 consecutive games. But the Rangers are currently sitting on an active streak of 12 defeats in a row, and in one way, it’s perhaps more impressive than either of our streaks of futility. Because during the streak, Texas has managed to go a total of 105 consecutive innings without being ahead at the end of the frame. That began after they blew a 2-0 lead in the second inning on July 10 against Oakland.
They did, technically, have the lead in the fifth inning on Sunday, after scoring the game’s first run in the fifth inning in Houston. But the Astros promptly scored twice in the bottom half of the frame, to take the lead for good. It has been both the Texas offense and their pitching which is to blame for the streak. They have an ERA of 7.13, while hitting just .153 with five collective HR in 365 at-bats. That’s why they have been outscored by an average of five runs per game, 80-20, during the streak. There’s a case to be made it’s the worst streak in the majors since the 1963 Mets. So let’s see what the D-backs can do to extend the Rangers’ misery tonight and tomorrow..
Torey Lovullo notes
- Carson Kelly continues his rehab assignment in Hillsboro tonight. He played 5 innings Sunday and was off Monday. He was scheduled to play Tuesday and Wednesday.
- Seth Frankoff threw 45 pitches to live batters and will be in Reno for rehab assignment on Saturday.
- Taylor Clarke is pitching in an ACL game today.
- Josh Rojas has continued to have increased range of motion. He is nearing the time to get a bat in his hand and take swings, but Torey didn’t specify a day.
- Luke Weaver threw another bullpen. Seems he has fallen behind the Taylor Clarke timeline, as he was originally tracking along with Clarke.
- Ketel Marte had 7 AB’s in a 4 inning intrasquad game yesterday and is playing in an ACL game today. They will determine his next steps after today.
- Kole Calhoun is leading off today. In part because he’s comfortable there and in part to get him as many AB’s as possible to get him some continuity. Torey feels that Kole has been struggling with pitch selection and going outside the zone.
Torey Lovullo audio [or link]
Not great audio quality today, our apologies!