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ARLINGTON, Texas – The shutout string for Texas starter Yovani Gallardo was bound to come to an end sometime.
Unfortunately for the Texas offense, big pitching performances are needed nightly with the woes the unit is having.
That was the case again Tuesday as Gallardo's shutout string ended but the hitting struggles continued for the Rangers as the Arizona Diamondbacks topped the Rangers 4-2.
The Rangers have been outscored 42-10 in a 0-4 homestand and have now dropped seven straight games at Globe Life Park.
"If we can go up there and get back on track and get back to playing our game we saw how quick this team can turn things around," said Texas first baseman Mitch Moreland, who had one of the four Texas hits. "It's just one of those times."
Texas has scored two runs or less in five of its last six games. Tuesday against Arizona left-hander Robbie Ray it wasn't runs that were tough to come by. The Rangers struggled to even get hits against a pitcher they scored seven runs off of in a start last season.
Texas was getting no-hit until Elvis Andrus singled to right with two outs in the fifth. The Rangers had just two hits and three baserunners against Ray through seven innings. The caught a break in the eighth when Andrus reached on a three-base error to open the inning.
That led to a Shin-Soo Choo sacrifice fly for the first Texas run. The Rangers got another run on a Rougned Odor RBI single and brought the tying run the plate in the eighth too. But the Diamondbacks went to another lefty in Oliver Perez to retire Prince Fielder to end the inning.
Ray went 7 2/3 innings and didn't allow an earned run. He walked one and struck out four as the Rangers have now lost their last four games against left-handers.
"He used his fastball tonight," Texas manager Jeff Banister said of Ray. "He powered his fastball through the strike zone. We struggled with his fastball really throughout the night. I think the finish on the fastball is probably what got us.
Gallardo worked out of trouble in each of the first four innings to extend his scoreless inning streak to 33 1/3 innings â the third longest in club history. But Gallardo, who stranded six baserunners the first four frames, wasn't as lucky in the fifth.
Jake Lamb's broken-bat single with two outs scored two runs. They added another run in the sixth on A.J. Pollock's RBI single to center, which ended the night for Gallardo.
Gallardo struggled with his command throughout the evening, walking a season-high five and striking out four. He also allowed eight hits in his 107-pitch outing.
Gallardo said his mechanics were off from the start. He worked around a single and a walk in the first and two more baserunners in the second. One thing he wasn't worried about was how the offense would do in supporting him.
Despite the struggles he knows the club will turn things around.
"The guys are going to hit," Gallardo said. "We haven't been able to swing the bats the way we want to but then again we haven't pitched the way we want to. It's just a bad stretch for all of us and we've got to battle through it. When things are going good everything seems to go your way but when things are going like they are right now you've got to keep moving forward, keep batting and keep playing hard."
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