Rangers Lose To A’s
By Anthony Andro, The Sports Xchange
ARLINGTON, Texas — The Texas Rangers considered tinkering with the top of the batting order because of the speed Delino DeShields has and the ability to get on base that Shin-Soo Choo possesses.
Carlos Gomez made that a moot point.
Gomez is a spark for the Rangers’ offense, locking down the leadoff spot for the Rangers as they close out the series against Oakland Athletics on Sunday.
Oakland’s leadoff spot is far from settled. Rajai Davis was expected to be that guy, but is struggling at the plate. Marcus Semien batted leadoff for the second time Saturday night and reached base safely three times in the 6-1 victory.
The A’s could use a Gomez type. He showed why Friday night as he turned a pair of singles into doubles and came around to score both times. He’s already scored four times this year and also became the 20th player to reach the club level in left field at Globe Life Park with his home run on opening day.
“My job is to get on base and have a good at-bat,” Gomez said. “Sometimes when you see six or seven pitches it’s a good at-bat not matter if you got an out or not. You give the people behind you a chance to see how good the stuff of the pitcher is that night. But everybody knows I’m an aggressive hitter and I do really good early in the count so if I see something early good to hit then you’re going to see me go 0-for-4 on four pitches.”
Texas manager Jeff Banister doesn’t want Gomez to change that mentality either for Sunday’s game as the Rangers face left-hander Sean Manaea (0-0, 6.00 ERA), who is 1-1 with a 4.18 ERA in four starts versus Texas.
Banister loves what Gomez brings at the top of the order.
“I just think that is so crucial to the offense for any baseball team really,” Banister said. “When you have a guy like that at the top of the lineup and he’s a multi-threat guy whether it’s one swing of the bat putting a quick point on the board, whether it’s a looping line drive into center field he’s able to leg out a double, beat a tough play on the infield, or it’s a walk and he can steal two bases on you.”
Oakland is looking for a spark like that. Davis was dropped from the leadoff spot to ninth in the order as his average sits at .167 after six games.
That opened the door for Semien, who is hitting .235 but has drawn a team-high six walks.
“I talked to him (Semien) about that, especially that on-base percentage and the way he’s taking pitches and laying off pitches and taking walks this year that there’s a chance he’ll hit farther up in the order,” Oakland manager Bob Melvin said of Semien. “I don’t know how much farther up in the order you can hit him than he is today. He’s done a really nice job laying off some pitches, taking some walks.”
Whether the switch-hitting Semien gets the nod today against Texas left-hander Martin Perez (0-1, 4.50) remains to be seen. Perez is 5-5 with a 5.15 ERA in his career against Oakland.
Davis could still find his way back in the leadoff spot. He’s just got to get going at the plate, which he showed signs of doing Saturday with two hits.
“To be down a few days, when you’re in the type of groove that you are, and then you sit for a few days, you have to kind of find it again,” Melvin said. “So maybe he’s not quite there yet, but I’ve got no problems with him. He’s a professional hitter, and I feel like he’s going to have a good year.
