WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Jake Burger didn’t have an explanation for one of the Texas Rangers‘ biggest problems this season. Friday’s 8-3 loss to the Athletics dropped Texas to 5-16 on the road against American League West opponents.
When Burger was asked why those games have gone so poorly, he didn’t pretend to have an answer.
“If you have an answer, let me know,” Burger said. “That’s not how you win a division.”
The Rangers’ .238 winning percentage in AL West road games is the second-worst mark in the majors.
Texas Rangers Keep Struggling Away From Home In AL West
The numbers have been bad on both sides. Texas has a .652 OPS in division road games. The pitching staff has a 4.59 ERA.
The Rangers are 3-9 away from home against the Los Angeles Angels and Athletics, the two teams at the bottom of the AL West. Texas is 2-3 at Sutter Health Park this season.
Texas won the opener of its four-game series in Anaheim 4-1, then lost the next three before dropping Friday’s series opener against the Athletics.
Texas is 60-63 after four straight losses. Manager Skip Schumaker said afterward that the changes he tried Friday “didn’t work” as the Rangers continued searching for a way out of the skid.
The Rangers are three games behind the Houston Astros, which matches their biggest deficit of the season. Houston beat the Seattle Mariners 10-7 on Friday. There are 39 games left.
Jake Burger’s Home Run Isn’t Enough
Burger erased the early deficit with one swing in the sixth. Corey Seager walked to start the inning, and Ezequiel Duran followed with a single. Burger then took a 3-2 fastball from Athletics rookie Gage Jump to left-center field for a three-run homer.
Statcast measured it at 428 feet. It was Burger’s 20th home run of the season and tied the game at 3.
Oakland answered right away. Jeff McNeil homered in the bottom of the sixth, and Lawrence Butler went deep an inning later. The Athletics added three runs in the eighth and won 8-3.
Kumar Rocker allowed three earned runs on four hits over five innings. He walked five and struck out three. Carlos Cortes drove in all three runs with a two-out double in the first.
Luis Medina worked 1 1/3 scoreless innings for the win. Chase Silseth took the loss after allowing McNeil’s homer.
Texas finished with four hits and went 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position. The Rangers also left eight men on base. They loaded the bases in the first inning but came away empty when Justin Foscue popped out to second base on the first pitch he saw.
Texas is batting .218 with the bases loaded this season, fifth-worst in the majors. Opponents have hit .330 against the Rangers in the same situation.
Burger also said the Rangers cannot start pressing at the plate during the losing streak, stressing the need to keep passing the baton rather than trying to solve everything with one swing.
The Rangers have now played 21 AL West road games and lost 16.
Burger has no explanation for it.
“If you have an answer, let me know,” Burger said. “That’s not how you win a division.”
