'Brutal couple of days' continue as D-backs jump on Rangers' pitching

PHOENIX -- The Rangers and Diamondbacks were in a scoreless stalemate for four innings on Friday night as they opened a three-game set at Chase Field.

MacKenzie Gore and Merrill Kelly, both having disappointing seasons by their standards, kept things moving quickly early for two teams still in the postseason chase.

Kelly broke first, with the Rangers scoring on a Joc Pederson one-out double to chase him from the game. But faced with the Arizona bullpen, Texas was unable to add onto its lead, despite having a pair of runners in scoring position with just one out and the heart of the lineup coming to the plate.

Gore broke shortly thereafter, in a much more devastating way in what eventually ended as a 9-1 D-backs win.

The southpaw allowed a double, a walk to nine-hole hitter Ryan Waldschmidt and another double to start the bottom of the fifth inning. A third double, this one from Ketel Marte, ended Gore’s evening without recording an out in the fifth.

And unlike the Rangers’ offense, the Diamondbacks did not miss an opportunity against their opponents’ middle relief arms. In fact, Arizona poured on the runs, sending 10 batters to the plate in the fifth and nine in the sixth to plate nine.

“I think the fifth inning when we scored a run had and a chance to add on with runners in scoring position, [but] just didn't add on [was the turning point],” said manager Skip Schumaker. “They end up responding with a four-run bottom half. I think that just the lack of execution of the couple pitches with Gore ended up costing us. Good hitters make you pay, unfortunately.”

While All-Star closer Jacob Latz has been nails for the Rangers all season long, the staff has often struggled to get the ball into his hands. And while some of that lies in the starters’ ability to go deep into games, Texas’ middle relief options have been a roller coaster.

The group has been littered with a number of rookies for much of the season, while also cycling through veterans -- like Jakob Junis, Alexander and Jordan Montgomery -- in different roles than they have been in in their careers.

“I think the reality is, you look internally as far as, 'Did I push the right button and am I doing the right thing?'” Schumaker said pregame, reflecting on Thursday’s loss to the Mariners. “You always look inside out and I’m trying to make sure that I'm putting guys in the best situation to succeed. … [We] have some pieces there. There's a couple guys that are coming off injury too and what is that going to look like. I think there's some guys that you can definitely lean on. I feel I still feel good with a lot of our guys. It's just now, 'Am I pulling and pushing the right button?' That's what keeps me up at night.”

Decisions may keep Schumaker up at night, but it’s not completely on him. Rangers relievers have a 5.13 ERA between the fifth and seventh innings, good for the the fourth-worst mark in the Majors. Their 1.41 WHIP in that same time frame is tied for sixth worst.

“You're just trying to stop the bleeding as best you can,” Schumaker said of the middle innings on Friday. “You're trying to match up to give your offense a chance, and we just couldn't contain them tonight.”

Thanks to the Astros’ walk-off loss to the Rays, the Rangers are three games back in the AL West, while also standing three games back of the final AL Wild Card spot.

“You’ve got to flush it quickly and try to go about it in a different way tomorrow,” Schumaker said. “Brutal couple of days. There's no sugarcoating it. But we have a chance to flush it tonight and to win tomorrow. … We still have some games. Time hasn’t run out yet. It only defines you if you allow it, and we're trying not to make it define us just yet. We have some time, but we’ve got to get going, and it starts tomorrow.”