ARLINGTON, Texas – Baseball is a team sport played out through individual matchups. The Rangers problem in 2022: Plenty of good individual performances; but the team not so much.
And so it was Sunday that the Rangers fell 10-4 to Cleveland and watched the Guardians win their first-ever AL Central title. Oh, Cleveland had won the division before, just never as the Guardians. Meanwhile, the Rangers fell to a season-worst 22-games below .500, all but assuring themselves another 90-loss season. They are 65-87 with 10 games to go.
On a day when manager Tony Beasley hoped the Rangers would delay the Guardians’ gratification, if nothing else, they instead made three errors. Cleveland scored an extra run when worn-down catcher Jonah Heim didn’t aggressively pursue a ball that got by him. Back-to-back balls got past Corey Seager and Marcus Semien.
