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Rangers manager Chris Woodward: Pitchers should be taking sticky substance checks more seriously

“Whether you agree with it or not,” Woodward says. “You have to follow the rules.”

ARLINGTON — Not only did the Rangers come back from an awful Tuesday to beat Oakland 5-3 Wednesday before 21,829 at Globe Life Field, no one got mooned. This is what you’re left to celebrate in a season like this.

ERAs down.

Pants up.

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No Oakland pitcher threatened to drop trou like Sergio Romo did Tuesday, one of several acts of defiance this week regarding MLB’s controversial new search and seizure rules. No Ranger pitcher objected, either. Practically an anomaly, because temperatures are up across baseball, and it has nothing to do with the heat wave.

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Early reviews of Rob Manfred’s mid-season bid to clean up the sticky stuff haven’t been good. Things got so ugly Tuesday between the Phillies and Nationals that coaches on both sides screamed across the field and Joe Girardi got ejected. Max Scherzer was still so mad at the Phillies’ manager for requesting another search that he called on MLB to end on-field checks by umpires and replace them with monitors who would conduct inspections in clubhouses, dugouts and bullpens.

Or maybe discreetly, behind a nice hospital curtain.

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Yankees reliever Zack Britton, like Scherzer a member of the player’s association executive subcommittee, seconded Scherzer’s motion. He called the open-air searches “a bad look.”

“Like,” he said, “we’re assuming you’re cheating.”

Well, yeah.

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Not only have rules against foreign substances on baseballs been on the books for more than a century, MLB officials warned clubs last season that they needed to start policing their own. Chris Woodward got the message, and the Rangers’ manager has been preaching it to his pitchers ever since.

For that matter, he’d like to see everyone take it seriously. In other words, knock it off, Sergio.

“It’s frustrating a little bit to see that,” Woodward said. “Guys aren’t taking it as seriously as they should. I listen to the pitchers’ comments. They’re not wrong. Maybe the league didn’t want to do it midseason, but we were given a lot of warnings.”

And if one of his players dropped trou?

“I’d be disappointed,” he said. “I’d probably have a talk with them. This is a big deal.

“Whether you agree with it or not, you have to follow the rules.”

The issue that Scherzer had with it wasn’t so much the inspection as the manner in which Girardi might have flaunted the rules. He’d already been frisked twice. Scherzer figured that was plenty. Even hinted maybe Girardi might have been trying to upset his rhythm. That’s what Mike Matheny thought, anyway, and he wasn’t even at the game. He’s the Royals’ manager. He practically guaranteed that if any manager tries the same ploy against his pitchers, watch out.

“It’s going to be awkward,” he told reporters. “I mean, it’s going to turn into some stuff.”

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Washington’s general manager, Mike Rizzo, went so far as to label Girardi “a con artist.” Woodward wasn’t quite as inflammatory. He doesn’t think Girardi was trying to pull anything, and he doesn’t think anyone else will, either. He said he’s talked to other managers who think the same. The league office made it quite clear that any managerial hijinks could result in disciplinary measures.

But if he sees a pitcher’s spin rate spike during a game, Woodward said he’ll ask for a search whether a pitcher’s already been frisked or not.

Because when it comes right down to it, the perfect time to go to the sticky stuff would be right after you’d been searched, wouldn’t it?

Or at least that’s what Woodward’s pitchers told him.

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Not that they’re using, of course.

Joey Gallo, for one, thinks this is all a good idea. Batting averages across baseball were historically low going into June.

“You saw how much offenses were struggling,” he said. “Balls were getting thrown 95 mph and moving like Wiffle balls.

“I don’t care what kind of athlete you are, it’s hard to hit that.”

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Because of the timing of the implementation, Gallo said he felt bad for pitchers. A little bit, anyway. Britton said the worst part is that it’s all the media is talking about. He might have a point. The Rangers beat the A’s on Wednesday because of six innings of two-run ball from Mike Foltynewicz, as well as three home runs, one from Nate Lowe and the 19th and 20th from Adolis Garcia, the first of which sounded off the bat like a tree trunk splitting. Gallo also made a diving, double-saving catch of a sinking liner in the eighth. Then Eli White doubled down on Gallo’s theatrics by diving for Elvis Andrus’ shot to end the inning. All in all, very entertaining.

One of these days, we’ll get back to baseball. Promise. Until then, try to keep your pants on.

Briefs: In a flurry of roster moves Wednesday, the Rangers called up relievers Joe Barlow and Wes Benjamin from Triple-A Round Rock; sent reliever Demarcus Evans to Round Rock; designated reliever Brett de Geus for assignment; and transferred outfielder David Dahl, on rehab assignment, from Round Rock to Double-A Frisco.

Barlow, 25, and an 11th-round pick in 2016, will be seeking his major league debut. He’s compiled a 2.64 ERA with 12.8 strikeouts per 9 innings in five professional seasons.

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As a Rule 5 pick from the Dodgers in December, de Geus, who posted an 8.44 ERA over 19 relief appearances, must be offered back to the Dodgers if he clears waivers.

Dahl, placed on the 10-day injured list on May 26 with a left rib cage contusion, can be activated at any time. He may have a long wait. The Rangers are intrigued by the improvement of Eli White. Going into Wednesday’s game since his recall June 8, White has posted a slash line of .270/.357/.568/925.

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