ARLINGTON, Texas _ The official end came in the same way the season it concludes played out. The Rangers were out of it early, but things lingered seemingly forever.
We give you Tuesday night in Arlington, Texas _ or a pretty good summation of the 2017 season: The starter didn't make it through the fourth inning. A questionable defensive decision by the season's most disappointing player helped extend a four-run Houston first inning. There was no relief from the relievers. And the offense created more wind than a West Texas air turbine.
The Rangers have officially been eliminated from playoff consideration. Officially it came seven innings into Tuesday's game thanks to Minnesota's win over Cleveland. But that news came nearly three hours into Houston's 14-3 thrashing that was ugly in every aspect. The loss was the Rangers' 81st of the season, guaranteeing them their second non-winning season since 2008.
And there are still five games to play out. What may be most surprising, given this team's multiple flaws, is that they got to the last Tuesday of the regular season still with a technical shot at the playoffs. That probably speaks more to the flaws of the other contenders rather than anything the Rangers did. In the end, the Rangers hung around because the race refused to run away from them.
Over the last five days, though, the Rangers bowed out and not so gracefully. In losing for the fifth straight game, they matched the season's longest losing streak and it was their second in September. Since climbing back to .500 and within 2.5 games of wild card leader Minnesota, they have been outscored 35-5.
"It is weird to get to the final week, and there's pretty much no meaning playing-wise," said Elvis Andrus, the team's most productive player. "But that's what it is. That's the way the year ended up for us."
And the thing is: Andrus acknowledged that before the game.
From the looks of things, it was pretty clear from the start the whole club felt that way _ even if Adrian Beltre and his filaments of hamstring returned to third base for the first time in nearly a month.
Hamels walked the first batter of the game and allowed each of the first five to reach. By the time he got the first out, it was 3-0. The second out should have also ended the inning, but on a flip from Andrus to start a double play, Odor didn't take time to plant his feet and threw with his momentum going towards left field. There was nothing on the throw evidenced by the fact that Brian McCann beat it out.
Odor, whose batting average fell to .204 with a ground out and a double play before being lifted, was the season's most perplexing player. After a $49 million contract extension in spring training and a pair of home runs on opening day, his season cratered. He has hit 30 home runs, but will finish with one of the lowest OPS lines (.653) in the AL.
When Hamels was taken out in the fourth after allowing consecutive walks to the Nos. 8-9 hitters and a single to George Springer, the score was 5-1. The makeshift bullpen did the rest of the damage. Perhaps the only difference: This time, at least, the bullpen didn't waste a lead.
The bullpen blew a lead on Opening Day and kept blowing them right through the All-Star break and right up until the Rangers eventually traded starter Yu Darvish on July 31. The 21 blown saves are the most since 2008 and the 49 save opportunities are the fewest since 2014. Those are the team's last two losing seasons.
And, of course, there were the strikeouts. After falling down 4-0, the Rangers' first three batters reached base in the bottom of the first, followed by consecutive strikeouts with runners in scoring position and a ground out. In the five-game losing streak, they have struck out 52 times, are averaging 10 strikeouts per game in September and have smashed the club record for strikeouts in a season. They finished the day with 1,450, nearly 200 more than the previous record of 1,253 set in 2009. Over the losing streak that ultimately put the finishing touches on the season, they were 2 for 20 with runners in scoring position.
It was all ugly enough that by seventh inning, prospect Willie Calhoun was in left field and Yohander Mendez was pitching. Over the final five games of the season, Calhoun is likely to be a regular in the outfield and it's possible Mendez will get the start in the season finale.
It's as close as the Rangers are going to come to getting a head start on 2018.
But, at last they know, this season is done.
Emphatically so.
