The Texas Rangers were eliminated from postseason contention on Thursday after suffering a 10-2 blowout loss at the hands of the Seattle Mariners. The Rangers are the first team to be eliminated this season.
Rangers eliminated from postseason play
After finishing with a winning record in each of the past five seasons, the Rangers became baseball’s first team to be mathematically eliminated from playoff contention this year.
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The Rangers entered the day needing either a win or a Detroit Tigers loss to avoid elimination. Detroit jumped out to a 4-0 lead over Cleveland but was in extra innings at the time the Rangers’ game ended. The Tigers entered Thursday a half-game ahead of the Mariners for the second American League Wild Card spot.
Texas Rangers
Injuries effectively killed any chance the Rangers had entering the season. The trouble began in January, when Derek Holland suffered a knee injury in a "freak accident" at his home. A couple of months later, Yu Darvish and Jurickson Profar were among several Rangers players who began the season on the disabled list.
Texas later lost Prince Fielder, who was acquired in an offseason blockbuster that sent Ian Kinsler to Detroit, for the season after he underwent neck surgery in May. To make matters worse, $130 million free agent acquisition Shin-Soo Choo put up league-average numbers before going down for the year in August. Key contributors Matt Harrison, Martin Perez, Tanner Scheppers and Mitch Moreland also suffered season-ending injuries.
The disastrous season came full circle when Holland returned to the mound on Sept. 2 and set an MLB record by becoming the 60th player to appear in a game for the Rangers in 2014.
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