Injuries, anxieties and inefficiencies.
On Tuesday, they combined to present Rangers manager Chris Woodward an opportunity to address what has been a long-term issue for his offense: How to better attack left-handed starting pitching.
With Rougned Odor still sidelined by a sore oblique muscle, Willie Calhoun still dealing with the psychological after-effects of taking a 95-mph fastball off his jaw and Shin-Soo Choo simply struggling, Woodward went with eight right-handed batters to attack Oakland’s hard-throwing Jesus Luzardo.
It may be more than just a one-day experiment. The Rangers were not good against lefties last year. They’ve struggled early against them in 2020. And, to paraphrase Yogi Berra, it can get late early in a 60-game season. Oakland had back-to-back lefties lined up against the Rangers with Sean Manaea scheduled to follow Luzardo.
“It’s kind of early to tell,” Woodward said before the Rangers’ ninth game of the season. “I wouldn’t say it’s a trial run, but a lot of these [right-handed hitters] have had a lot of quality at-bats in camp and into the season. We’re looking to put guys in there to give us a chance to maybe get that guy [starter] out of the game and flip the lineup at that point and go with our lefties. Honestly, we’re just looking for the best quality [at-bats] to win games.”
A year ago, opponents lined up to start lefties against a Rangers lineup that tilted too far to the left. With a lineup that often featured as many as five left-handed swingers, the Rangers were low-hanging fruit to pick. The Rangers’ lineup had a .712 OPS against lefty starters, one point better than Seattle, which was last in the AL. The Rangers went 26-32 in games when the opponent started a lefty. It was the difference between a winning and losing season for a team that went 78-84.
This year, the results have been more dire. The left-handed hitters in the Rangers regular lineup — Joey Gallo, Choo, Odor and Calhoun — combined to go 1 for 17 in the first three games against lefty starters. Gallo had the only hit, a homer, and two walks. He was the only lefty in Tuesday’s lineup. He also moved up from cleanup to third. The Rangers’ overall lineup had produced 11 total hits in 151/3 innings against lefty starters.
So Tuesday, Woodward plugged right-handed hitters Scott Heineman, Rob Refsnyder and Adolis Garcia into the lineup and ended up with eight right-handers. Only twice last year were the Rangers able to squeeze eight right-handed swingers into the lineup.
Some of the decisions on pulling lefties were easy. Odor is still not available and might not be until the weekend. Calhoun admitted lefties, particularly power lefties like Oakland’s Luzardo, presented him issues in the wake of suffering a fractured jaw after being hit by Julio Urias’ fastball in spring training. The two have talked through Calhoun’s anxiety.
“You can’t disregard it,” Woodward said. “It’s something that’s pretty traumatic. He’s dealt with it. He’s continued to deal with it. I can’t ignore that. If I do, then shame on me for creating a problem that I could easily navigate through and help him walk through. He wants to play all the time; he’s a tough kid. But I’ve got to do the right thing for him and put him in good matchups.”
More difficult: the decision on Choo. It’s entirely possible Choo will be back at the top of the lineup Wednesday since he’s 4 for 13 in his career vs. Manaea, but the long-term numbers against lefties suggest a downward trend. Since Aug. 1, 2018, his slash line vs. lefties: .216/.306/.322/.628. In that time, Choo ranks 10th in plate appearances by a left-handed hitter against lefties but ranks 27th of 32 players with at least 200 plate appearances vs lefties in OPS.
Even if he won’t use the word “platoon,” it pushes Woodward toward finding other solutions. The shorter season nudges him toward taking stabs at those solutions more quickly.
“For sure,” Woodward said. “This is a tough matchup for a lefty. I won’t do that all the time. I know what to expect with Choo. It doesn’t mean I’ve lost faith in Choo to handle an at-bat. If he starts hitting, he’ll probably find himself in there. So, I don’t like using the word “platoon.” I don’t think it’s fair in this year to use that. But guys have got to earn at-bats. I’m just hoping the guys in there [Tuesday] can be somewhat more productive.”
The benchmark isn’t high. Any production against lefties will be more than the Rangers have received early this season.
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