ARLINGTON -- The Rangers loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the fourth inning, trailing the White Sox by two runs.
If there ever was an opportunity to blow a game open, it was right there. Instead, they got one run back when catcher Elias Díaz grounded into a double play. Alejandro Osuna -- who singled earlier in the game -- struck out to strand the final runner.
The Rangers ultimately fell, 4-2, to the White Sox to drop the series.
“I thought we took good at-bats. Just again, the bases loaded, no outs -- that was the difference in the game,” manager Skip Schumaker said. “It's been a little bit of an issue the whole year, quite honestly, with the bases loaded situations. We gotta figure out how to score in those situations. A crooked number there at least ties or puts us in the lead. A couple guys had some good swings, but obviously just one hit away from really breaking that open, which we couldn't do.”
Schumaker said that before Tuesday’s 10-0 win over the White Sox, outfielder Brandon Nimmo came in with an edge that percolated through the team. Whatever that edge was, it didn’t appear on Wednesday, when Nimmo recorded one of Texas’ five hits.
And whatever that edge was, they could use a whole lot of that this weekend when the Mariners come to town for a four-game set. Seattle sits just half a game back of the Rangers in the AL West standings at the conclusion of Wednesday's game.
“This morning was our first day not in first place in a while,” Nimmo said on Tuesday. “You have to keep your foot on a gas pedal, otherwise -- look, everyone else wants it as bad as you do. I feel like the offense has done pretty well coming back from the break. I’m just trying to really focus on what we could do, and not try and focus on things outside of our control. We'll leave no stone unturned. It's a marathon, not a sprint.”
The Rangers have now dropped four of their first six games coming out of the All-Star break and are 7-9 in July on the heels of a season-best six-game winning streak from June 25-30.
They’ve fallen back to .500 for the 16th time this season, which is the most of any American League team.
“I think for the guys in the clubhouse, it's just doing what we need to do every night to win, and then just take it from there,” said third baseman Josh Jung, who didn’t play on Wednesday while nursing a calf injury. “I feel like we're in a pretty dang good spot. We're playing good ball. We're playing good teams, and we're hanging in there.
“It kind of feels like playoff games in July. The Seattle series this weekend is going to be really big because we haven't faced them in about two months, and we're facing all their [top pitchers], so it'll be a good series.”
The team is off on Thursday.
Then, there are 10 games left until the Trade Deadline. The Rangers still have a lot of question marks, including whether this is a team worth investing in for a postseason push. The American League West is the most winnable division in baseball. Texas maintains a lead over the Mariners with just a 51-51 record.
Seven of the Rangers’ next 10 games leading into the Deadline will come against divisional opponents in the Mariners (four) and Astros (three). The decision on whether they’re a buyer or seller could come before they even make it to Tampa Bay between those sets.
“I think the next four games, the next 10 days quite honestly, are going to say a lot about our team,” Schumaker said. “We're going to find out. I think it's a big series for both teams. Both of us are in a spot to, you know, go one way or the other, pretty much.
“I know it's 100 games in, but there are still a lot of games left after that that are super important. I don't want to lose sight of that, either. Winning game one of a big series and division opponent is what I'm concerned about. This will be a fun series.”