The Rangers are no strangers to extra-inning games in 2021, having already played seven heading into Tuesday’s matchup with the Rockies. But Texas wasn’t able to pull through another victory, falling 3-2 after a walk-off wild pitch in the 11th inning at Coors Field. 

The Rangers are 6-2 in extra-inning games as they extended their road losing streak to 13 games, the longest streak since relocating to Texas in 1972.

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Lefty Brett Martin got Charlie Blackmon to ground out to open the 11th, allowing free runner Ryan McMahon to move to third base. Martin intentionally walked Joshua Fuentes, bringing Brendan Rodgers to the plate. With a full count on Rodgers, Martin bounced a pitch that got by catcher Jonah Heim, allowing McMahon to score.

It was eerily similar to the Rangers’ only other extra-inning loss this season in Houston, also with Martin on the mound and Heim behind the plate.

“I hate to say it, but a little bit,” manager Chris Woodward said when asked if it gave him a bit of déjà vu. “Obviously it was a similar situation with a somewhat similar result. I wanted to throw that same pitch. We felt like we could get Rodgers if we executed pitches. I know Heim would probably say you expect to block it 10 out of 10 times, but it just kind of skirted away from him.”

Woodward said it wasn’t a mistake on Martin, but it was a bit of bad luck that the ball kicked away from Heim when he tried to block it.

Bad luck seems to be the root of a lot of Texas’ struggles throughout the losing streak, but Woodward made sure to point out that bad breaks aren’t the only reason they’re losing.

“That's baseball,” Woodward said. “We got plenty of opportunities to win a game. I don't want to make the narrative that we're getting unlucky. I mean definitely got unlucky a few times, but we can't rely on that.

“We’ve got to make our own breaks. We’ve got to have better quality at bats, we’ve got to make pitches. We need to find a way to win a game. That's just the bottom line.”

The Rangers offense struggled once again against the Rockies, only totaling four hits on the night. The squad was 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position after going just 1-for-17 in a four-game sweep in Seattle.

An eighth-inning homer from pinch-hitter Khris Davis tied the game, but the Rangers weren’t able to put any runs across after that. Woodward said that Rangers hitters are struggling to make contact even in advantage counts.

“I think we did hit a few balls hard,” Woodward said. “But there were some counts there I thought that we could have taken advantage of, and we either fouled them off or we just weren't on time. We didn't put pressure on them. We didn't execute our best swings and obviously we didn't get anything going because of it.”

Rangers starter Dane Dunning went just 4 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on four hits. But the bigger story of Dunning’s night was recording his first Major League hit -- a single up the middle in the third inning -- in his first Major League at-bat.

He hadn’t registered an official at-bat in his three years at the University of Florida, nor through his years in the Minors. Dunning was drafted by the Nationals, but was traded to the White Sox, where he made his Major League debut in 2020, so he never had the opportunity to start in a National League park.

“It was really cool to be honest,” Dunning said. “I hit it and I was just praying that it got through and it did. I loved that experience, it was a lot of fun.”