After a defensive meltdown and pitching collapse against Minnesota, Skip Schumaker takes accountability for fundamental errors as the Texas Rangers struggle to capitalize on a wide-open AL West race.
The Texas Rangers are now three games below .500 as they've dropped four of their last five.
The Minnesota Twins took the first two games of their three-game slate, and game two was a lopsided 10-run loss for a Rangers team that allowed 17 hits and committed two errors.
Things got ugly quick as Minnesota scored a pair in the first, added three in the third, and then put up five runs in the fourth inning. Down 10-0, the Rangers were able to score runs of their own in the fourth and fifth but it was far too little too late.
Manager Skip Schumaker wasn't happy, nor should he be in a game like this where his starter allowed six earned runs on seven hits. Getting through just 3.1 innings is far from ideal, especially when the reliever who followed gave up three runs and recorded just two outs.
Schumaker Calls This an "Ugly Loss"
"Obviously, the start of the game wasn't great. You look at the first pitch, we just didn't start off like we wanted to start off, and just fell behind really early. It was tough to catch up," he said.
Schumaker continued, "I've said it before: ugly losses like this, when you don't do well, really, in all facets of the game, it starts with me. We made some fundamental mistakes throughout the game that we have to clean up, but overall, just a tough, tough loss in all facets.”
AL West is As Weak As It Gets
Somehow, the Rangers are just 17-23 against teams with a losing record. On the contrary, they're 19-14 against teams with winning records. That simply can't happen, especially in an American League West Division race that is anyone's game.
Even after their latest loss, Texas is still 2.5 games back in the division. Not a single team in the AL West is more than two games over .500, and even the last-place Los Angeles Angels, who are 14 games below .500, are only eight games out.
Losing 12-2 to a team like the Minnesota Twins perfectly encapsulates what the Rangers season has been so far. Schumaker isn't making the adjustments he needs to beat opponents this team should have no problem losing to, and a 17-16 home record isn't good enough to get the job done with a fanbase that is hanging on by the skin of their teeth.
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