There has not been a back-to-back World Series champion in 23 years and it looks like there will not be one this year either.
The Texas Rangers hit a brick wall in their bid to win consecutive World Series titles and all that’s left is 12 more regular season games, beginning with the opener of a three-game series against the visiting Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday night.
The Rangers (71-79) have lost three in a row and five of six to drop 8 1/2 games back of the final American League wild-card spot entering Monday.
“I wish I knew what the answer was,” Texas manager Bruce Bochy said. “Obviously, I don’t have it figured out.”
A four-time World Series champion as manager, Bochy ran out of buttons to push this season.
“It shows how difficult it is to win a championship,” Bochy said. “To repeat, a lot of good things have to happen. You need your guys to have a similar year to the year before, you need to avoid injuries and you need a surprise or two.”
Texas belted 233 home runs during the regular season last year, but only 158 balls have cleared the fence so far this season. Corey Seager, who was just ruled out for the season with a sports hernia, played in 123 games this season and hit 30 home runs after playing in 119 games last season and hitting 33.
“Our guys will tell you they haven’t had the years they had last year,” Bochy said. “We weren’t the same team offensively, and it’s hard to explain why. We just didn’t have that same slug as we did last year.”
The Rangers plan to start right-hander Nathan Eovaldi in the series opener.
Eovaldi (11-8, 3.67 ERA) allowed four runs and seven hits in five innings in his most recent start last Tuesday, a 6-0 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks that ended a three-start winning streak.
“I felt like I wasn’t really locating my fastball and splitter (against Arizona), and those two pitches really cost me,” Eovaldi said. “It didn’t feel like I made as many adjustments as I should have. I got a little stubborn.”
Eovaldi has made 13 appearances against Toronto, including 12 starts, and is 1-3 with a 5.24 ERA.
Chris Bassitt is scheduled to take the mound for the Blue Jays (72-78), who are only one game better than the Rangers in the wild-card standings.
Bassitt (10-13, 4.20) is coming off a solid performance in which he limited the New York Mets to one run and five hits and struck out eight in six innings, earning the victory in the 6-2 win on Tuesday.
Bassett played for the Mets in 2022 and still has a few fans in their dugout.
“Playing behind him, you know he’s going to leave it all out there every single time,” Mets first baseman Pete Alonso said. “If you do that, it’s really cherished in the locker room because everyone knows how hard it is — anything can happen over the course of the season.
“There’s this old saying in baseball, the best ability of a player is availability. He’s out there every fifth day and leaves it all out there every single time he throws the rock.”
Bassitt has made 15 appearances against the Rangers in his career, including 11 starts, and is 5-3 with a 3.72 ERA.
The Blue Jays have won three in a row after losing seven of nine.
–Field Level Media