Texas Rangers’ offense blanked again as struggles on the road, in openers continue

The injuries are mounting with the Texas Rangers, who have 10 players on either the 10- or 60-day disabled lists.

No one new was added Thursday before the Rangers opened a four-game series against the Seattle Mariners, but right-hander Kohei Arihara did undergo surgery to remove an aneurysm and repair the artery in his right shoulder.

As frightening as that sounds, the procedure went as expected. No surprises were found in there. Arihara will be evaluated again in four weeks and is expected to miss 12 weeks.

He is one of two starting pitchers, along with Kyle Gibson, who is on the IL. Gibson’s replacement was the starter Thursday at T-Mobile Park.

Kolby Allard pitched pretty well, too, and wasn’t the problem in the Rangers’ third straight loss.

Here’s some Rangers Reaction from a 5-0 defeat.

Rangers bats go silent

The hope after the offense mounted a late surge Wednesday was that it would carry over into the series opener against the Mariners.

That kind of thing has been known to happen in baseball.

It just didn’t happen Thursday.

The Rangers collected only six hits as they were shut out for the fifth time this season. They had only two extra-base hits — a two-out triple in the sixth by Willie Calhoun after Seattle left-fielder Jarred Kelenic dived and missed it, and a two-out ninth-inning double by Joey Gallo that smacked off the wall in left-center field.

Not even Adolis Garcia could get anything going, though he saved two runs defensively by robbing Mitch Haniger of a first-inning homer and by throwing out a runner at home to end the seventh.

“We’re a little bipolar offensively,” manager Chris Woodward said. “We’re going to come back tomorrow and prepare and compete.”

Mariners right-hander Chris Flexen tossed seven innings to beat the Rangers for the second time this month. He was better Thursday than in the first outing, but the Rangers were miffed that they didn’t knock Flexen around.

“We didn’t put any pressure on him or hit balls hard,” Woodward said. “If we’re going to be a good offense, we’ve got to put more pressure on there.”

Another for Allard?

Allard was acquired in 2019 from the Atlanta Braves with the hope that he could become a long-term rotation piece, and maybe that’s still the hope even though he had worked exclusively out of the bullpen before making his first start of the season against the Mariners.

Allard allowed two hits in four innings, back-to-back homers in the second. He threw 57 pitches. It was a good outing, especially after what Hyeon-Jong Yang and Dane Dunning did in their starts Tuesday and Wednesday.

“I wish I hadn’t made those two mistakes,” Allard said.

Depending on what the Rangers decide to do with their off day Monday, they could maneuver it so that Allard would not make another start before Gibson returns next weekend at Globe Life Field against Tampa Bay.

They shouldn’t, though. He deserves another look in the rotation.

“We’re still debating,” Woodward said. “We’re considering both options at this point.”

Taylor Hearn was tagged for three runs in the seventh inning, his third, as Brett Martin allowed all three inherited runners to score. Yet, Woodward thought both pitched well.

Hearn and Martin are left-handed. So is Allard. The first hitter Martin faced, No. 9 hitter Jack Mayfield, was in a 1-for-20 skid and hadn’t collected an extra-base hit all season.

The right-handed hitter doubled in two runs. A right-handed pitcher might have fared better, though Martin should be able to retire an .095 hitter.

Woodward, though, didn’t have many choices. Brett de Geus and Demarcus Evans logged multiple innings Tuesday, and the Rangers aren’t going to go to closer Ian Kennedy there.

That leaves Josh Sborz, but the Rangers have been using him when they have had leads.

Here’s a right-hander to keep in mind: Jake Lemoine, who has a 0.93 ERA and a 96-mph sinker at Triple A Round Rock.

Road worriers

At one point this month, the Rangers were a 9-7 road team. That’s pretty good, especially considering all the young players on the roster.

After the loss Thursday, the Rangers are 9-16 on the road.

That’s right: They have lost nine straight away from Arlington. Only three of the nine games have been decided by more than two runs.

Oftentimes a young team can be thrown off the first time its young players visit a new park. They deal with a new city, a new clubhouse, a new ballpark. That sounds like something that should not trip up major-league ballplayers, but it does.

Woodward seemed more concerned with the Rangers’ dismal record in series openers on the road. He should be, as the Rangers have started only 1 of 8 road series with a victory.

“We want to win every series,” Woodward said. “If you lose that first game ... that’s too much pressure to put on your team. So, we’ve got to play better in Game 1.”