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Final thoughts from Texas Rangers’ fifth straight loss: A light at the end of the tunnel?

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Final thoughts from Texas Rangers’ fifth straight loss: A light at the end of the tunnel?


ARLINGTON – Buried deep beneath the rubble of their fifth straight loss, perhaps the heartbeat of the Rangers’ offense started to beat once again Tuesday.

Adolis García’s bat has been located.

García homered and doubled in the Rangers’ 7-4 loss to Cleveland. It was double his previous total for the first two weeks of May in which he had a lone double. He hadn’t homered since April 28. He was in a bad way with 11 strikeouts in 21 at-bats over the previous five games. As he is prone to do, García was in a stretch of chasing fastballs out of the zone. And the deeper the funk of the Rangers’ offense became, the more García tried to do, which only exacerbated the problem.

“He’s been trying too hard,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy had said before the game. “And when things aren’t going well, he can get a little down on himself because he wants to help the team. He’s set the bar pretty high for who he is.”

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Though García is so physically imposing, he is at his best when he doesn’t try to overpower fastballs, particularly those above the strike zone. When he falls into that habit, an extended slump can follow. He went through a stretch like this late last year. He does his most damage on secondary stuff. Both his homer and double came on sliders from Ben Lively and Scott Barlow. On the homer, it’s worth noting that Lively had tried to get García to chase with three straight fastballs either wide of or above the zone. García did not swing.

It’s also worth noting that with García’s homer in the second and Corey Seager’s in the third, it marked the first time this year the Rangers’ best homer-hitting duo both homered in the same game. If Seager and García get hot at the same time, the offense becomes exponentially better.

Alright, that said, here are some other VERY IMPORTANT observations from the Rangers’ loss Tuesday:

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Jack Leiter’s third Texas Rangers start made it clear: He’s not yet ready for the majors

Best silver lining: Jack Leiter’s loss was a chance for others to gain, namely Jonathan Hernández and Yerry Rodriguez, both of whom were called on to pitch multiple innings. Both have struggled with command and to come out of the gate firing their best stuff. Bruce Bochy has all but begged for them to step up.

Granted, coming in with a big deficit is the definition of low leverage, but both were very effective. Rodriguez especially so. He entered the game throwing 97 mph, compared to 95 mph over the weekend in Denver. Bochy had mentioned the need for him to bring his max velocity with him rather than needing a hitter or two to ramp up.

Pitched four hitless innings, allowing only a hit batter who was then erased on a double play. Even made a nice reaction on a hard-hit comebacker off his glove that knocked his hat clean off his head.

“When you are aggressive and attack the zone, good things happen,” Bochy said. “We need these guys to step up. And they did.”

Worst prediction: The Rangers are going to need a relief arm to boost the bullpen on Wednesday. There is only one healthy reliever on the 40-man roster, lefty Antoine Kelly. Put those factors together and it’s easy to believe Kelly will be the callup. He might be, but here’s why he might not: Kelly, who returned from a three-week stint on the IL just 10 days ago, still hasn’t pitched two full innings and hasn’t pitched on consecutive days.

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Think the Rangers either need somebody who can go two-plus innings or somebody who can pitch on consecutive days. Think it makes it just as likely that either veteran Shaun Anderson or Gerson Garabito, signed to a minor league contract this winter after pitching the last two seasons in Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic, would be added. It would force the Rangers to create a spot on the 40-man roster. Reliever Austin Pruitt (knee) would seemingly be easy enough to move to the 60-day IL since he’s not even around the team right.

So, if I’m making a prediction for who replaces Jack Leiter in the short-term on the 26-man roster, I’m as inclined to go with Anderson or Garabito as I am with Kelly.

Worst collision: The collision between Cleveland shortstop Brayan Rocchio and center fielder Ty Freeman was hard to watch. From the summit of the Globe, you could see the two converging on Adolis García’s pop to shallow center in the fifth and you kept thinking ‘’uh, nobody’s slowing down.”

Rocchio hit Freeman in the face with his extended glove and also in the elbow with his own face. Both crumpled to the ground. I was sure somebody had a broken jaw. Honestly, was also amazed that Freeman held on to the ball. And more amazed that after being visited by athletic trainers, both stayed in the game. It was scary and about as solid contact between two players as I’ve seen in some time.

Freeman took a beating Tuesday, getting hit twice by pitches and also making a diving catch in center field.

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Worst stretch: Final score from Colorado this week: Stars 9, Rangers 6. Which tells you something about both teams, just how well the Stars played in Denver and just how poorly the Rangers did.

Worst sign of the apocalypse: When I got home from the ballpark, did another check of Ebay, just to see what people were seeking for Corey Seager World Series replica rings. Mind you: This is a replica. The stones are not real. The metal is not gold. It is a replica. It says so on the box. There were people on Ebay asking for $800 and $1,200 for their rings. Granted, they included “or best offer” in their ads. The going rate appeared to be about $125 a pop from what I saw. This was two hours after the game ended. What a racket.

Twitter: @Evan_P_Grant

    Houston Astros’ Ronel Blanco ejected from game for foreign substance on glove
    Jack Leiter’s third Texas Rangers start made it clear: He’s not yet ready for the majors

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2024 Texas Election Guide: How to register to vote and make your voice heard

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2024 Texas Election Guide: How to register to vote and make your voice heard


At ABC13 Houston, we believe our democracy works best when everyone participates.

This year, Texas voters will cast ballots for our next president and vice president, U.S. Senator, congressional and state representatives, and decide on multiple judicial races.

Your last day to register to vote is Monday, Oct. 7, 2024.
Check your Texas voter registration | Register to vote (print, sign and mail)
Find your polling place

Texas does not offer online voter registration, but you can visit VoteTexas.gov to fill out, print, sign and mail your application. To be eligible to vote in the November general election, your registration form must be received or postmarked by the Oct. 7 deadline.

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You can also register to vote in person at your local Voter Registrar’s office.

Even if you’ve voted before, you should still double-check your registration.

More than a million Texans have been removed from voter rolls since 2021, and the League of Women Voters told ABC13 that some voters have been removed if they didn’t register in the last two federal elections.

Early voting will begin Monday, Oct. 21 and run through Friday, Nov. 1.

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5.

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Voting by mail in Texas is limited to voters who are:

  • Ages 65 and older
  • Sick or disabled
  • Expected to give birth within three weeks of Election Day
  • Out of the county on Election Day and during the early voting period
  • Confined in jail, but otherwise eligible
  • Civilly committed under Chapter 841 of the Texas Health and Safety Code

The last day to register to vote by mail in Texas is Friday, Oct. 25.

Click here to download an application to vote by mail.

What you can (and can’t) bring to the polls

All voters must present one of the following forms of photo ID:

  • Texas driver license issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS)
  • Texas Election Identification Certificate issued by DPS
  • Texas personal identification card issued by DPS
  • Texas handgun license issued by DPS
  • United States military identification card containing the person’s photograph
  • United States citizenship certificate containing the person’s photograph
  • United States passport (book or card)

You can still vote if you do not possess or cannot reasonably obtain one of these photo IDs. You will need to fill out a Reasonable Impediment Declaration at the polls and show a copy or original of one of the following approved IDs:

  • Certified Domestic Birth Certificate or Court Admissible Birth Document
  • Current utility bill
  • Bank statement
  • Government check
  • Paycheck
  • Government document with your name and an address, including your voter registration certificate

If you need assistance, voters may request help by any person other than the voter’s employer, an agent of their employer, or an officer or agent of a labor union to which the voter belongs.

You are not permitted to use a wireless communications device or any device which records audio, images or video within 100 feet of a voting station. This includes smartphones, digital cameras or sound recorders. Election judges are authorized to require anyone to turn off or deactivate any device.

While you may be excited to vote for a particular candidate, you should not wear any campaign t-shirts, buttons, hats or other accessories to the polls. This is considered electioneering, which is not permitted within 100 feet of the voting stations.

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What’s on my ballot?

For a glance at what you’ll see at the top of your ballot, click here (PDF).

For down ballot races, see your county election authority’s website for details:

Harris Co.
Fort Bend Co.
Montgomery Co.
Galveston Co.
Chambers Co.
Liberty Co.
Waller Co.
Austin Co.
Brazoria Co.
Calhoun Co.
Colorado Co.
Grimes Co.
Jackson Co.
Matagorda Co.
Polk Co.
San Jacinto Co.
Trinity Co.
Walker Co.
Washington Co.
Wharton Co.

Copyright © 2024 KTRK-TV. All Rights Reserved.



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Texas Supreme Court allows State Fair of Texas gun ban to take effect

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Texas Supreme Court allows State Fair of Texas gun ban to take effect


Texas Supreme Court allows State Fair of Texas gun ban to take effect – CBS Texas

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Most visitors will not be allowed to take guns into the State Fair of Texas after the state Supreme Court turned away a last-minute request from the Office of the Attorney General. Lacey Beasley reports on what security measures fairgoers can expect.

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Texas A&M Commit Cancels Visit With Texas Longhorns

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Texas A&M Commit Cancels Visit With Texas Longhorns


After coming up short to the Texas Longhorns in the race for a pair of highly-touted players on the 2025 recruiting trail, the Texas A&M Aggies have secured a win over their heated rivals.

Per Ryan Brauninger of TexAgs, Texas A&M three-star defensive line commit Chace Sims has cancelled his official visit to Texas this weekend. The Randle High School (Richmond, TX) product was set to visit the Forty Acres for the Longhorns’ SEC opener against Mississippi State on Saturday, but has instead decided to cross Texas off his list barring a change of heart at some point down the line.

This development comes after the Aggies fell short to Texas in the recruiting races for a pair of five-star players in receiver Kaliq Lockett and safety/linebacker Jonah Williams.

Sims originally committed to Texas A&M on July 2 after taking his official visit to College Station on June 21. He also took OVs to Texas Tech (June 21), Kansas (June 14), Washington (May 31) and SMU (May 17).

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Texas A&M recruiting analyst Jaxson Callaway reported Thursday that Sims’ decision to cancel his Texas official visit “had been trending this way.”

“Pretty big development for the Aggies recruiting class, as Chace Sims has cancelled his previously scheduled official visit to Texas,” Callaway tweeted. “Had been trending this way after his trip to College Station this past weekend, but now decided upon.

The Aggies offered Sims in February. He received offers from other programs like LSU, TCU, Kansas State, Arizona, Baylor, Pittsburgh, California and more.

According to 247Sports’ rankings, Sims is the No. 69 defensive tackle and No. 91 overall player in the 2025 recruiting class.

Sims is currently a part of a 2025 that’s highlighted by five-star quarterback Husan Longstreet and four-stars like cornerback Adonyss Currie, defensive linemen Kiotti Armstrong and DJ Sanders, athlete Noah Mikhail, edge Marco Jones and many more.

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During the 2023 season, Sims posted 11 sacks. He’s tallied 120 tackles (26 for loss), 12 sacks and two forced fumbles over the past two seasons combined.



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