The Latest Breaking News from Chris Woodward

ARLINGTON, Texas — Credit the Rangers with serving up a satisfying appetizer on Sunday afternoon with a 7-1 win over the Boston Red Sox – in contrast to their performances in the series’ two previous games – before the main course of a historic evening of dueling Game 7s for…

This was pathetic.

ARLINGTON, Texas — Baseball, conventionally, isn’t an instant gratification sport. It’s a long season; a grind that’s glorified. It’s 162 games, and after Friday night’s series-opening loss to the Atlanta Braves, the Rangers were only 20 games through it.

ARLINGTON, Texas — Everything was going so perfectly for the Texas Rangers.

ARLINGTON, Texas — It was such a promising start. The first batter of the season for the Rangers homered. The next three all reached and scored.

ARLINGTON, Texas — There is a case to be made that for the Rangers’ evolution this season to match the design, there are no two more important players on the roster than Dane Dunning and Taylor Hearn.

ARLINGTON, Texas — Chris Woodward didn’t want to put the weight of the world on starting pitcher Taylor Hearn’s shoulders, but he did need Hearn’s absolute best on Saturday night. Actually, more specifically, he needed Hearn’s absolute maximum.

ARLINGTON, Texas — Marcus Semien came to the Rangers with high expectations. That’s natural for a player who hit 45 home runs a year ago — a record among second basemen — and signed a seven-year, $175 million to be one of two pillars for a rebuilding franchise.

TORONTO — If the start to the season was a playoff series — and sorry for those Blue Jay flashbacks — the Rangers would be in a significant hole, sure, but the gap between the teams is not nearly as visible.