Right at home? Texas Rangers’ Globe Life Field hitting woes are team’s biggest issue.
At 11-16 to begin May, the Texas Rangers have had their share of issues so far this season.
They have seen starting pitchers stumble the last time or two through rotation. The bullpen has had issues, though not of late as the relievers entered Saturday riding a streak of 19 consecutive scoreless innings.
The biggest problem relates to the offense. More specifically, the problem is the offense at Globe Life Field.
The Rangers entered Saturday’s game against the Boston Red Sox with the worst home average (.199), on-base percentage (.263) and OPS (.584) in the major leagues, and only one MLB team had scored fewer times (37) at home.
This isn’t a new problem. The Rangers struggled everywhere in the 60-game 2020 campaign, finishing last in the American League in average, on-base percentage and OPS, but were slightly better at home than the road.
But the splits are drastic so far this season through only 14 of 81 home games, with the Rangers last in baseball in the same three categories while at the top or near the top on the road.
Globe Life Field isn’t going to go away, so the Rangers need to make their home scoring woes go away.
“It’s something that we have to figure out,” manager Chris Woodward said last week. “We play 81 games here. This should be our advantage every time we step on this field. I know our guys love playing here, but we haven’t quite figured out the offensive part to just consistently hit here.”
Part of the formula is having quality hitters, as the Los Angeles Dodgers did last year over three playoff series at Globe Life Field. They swatted 29 homers in 16 games en route to winning the World Series, while the Rangers hit 27 homers in 30 regular-season games.
No Dodgers hitter has the elite power of Joey Gallo, yet the ballpark was in his head last season. After watching towering flyballs sail out of Globe Life Park across the street, they were being caught well before the Globe Life Field walls last season.
He adjusted his mechanics to adjust to the ballpark, and it led him into a swoon.
Gallo connected for half of his 10 homers last season at Globe Life Field, and has hit one of his two there this season. But Gallo entered Saturday batting .098 this season at home.
He isn’t alone. Isiah Kiner-Falefa (.196), David Dahl (.146) and Adolis Garcia (.138) are also hitting below .200.
When asked before the season if he thought the ballpark was a pitcher’s park, Gallo essentially declined to comment. Later that night, in a March 29 exhibition against the Milwaukee Brewers, Gallo hit 109.4 mph rocket with a 30-degree launch angle to left-center field ... where it was caught for an out.
Red Sox hitters connected for four home runs Friday night. The Rangers had 14 homers at home this season, which was seventh in the American League.
But they had scored only 37 runs at Globe Life Field, which was last in baseball. Included in the home futility was being no-hit April 9 by Joe Musgrove of the San Diego Padres.
Others are thriving at home. Nick Solak is batting .306 with four homers, and Jose Trevino has a .313 average and connected for his first homer Thursday.
Collectively, though, the Rangers need to solve their Globe Life Field woes.
“It is something that each guy has to figure out on their own, how to have success in this place,” Woodward said. “We want ... we need to have an advantage when we play here.”
