The Ranger’s lone run support in their loss to the Angels came when Corey Seager hit a solo home run in the fourth inning.

A concerning pattern has emerged. Initially, Rangers manager Bruce Bochy commends the opposing team’s starting pitcher, as he did on Sunday with Los Angeles’ José Soriano, praising his exceptional pitching repertoire—great stuff, hard velocity, and tricky off-speed pitches. These accolades, while accurate, were evident in the Rangers’ 4-1 defeat.

Subsequently, Bochy extends praise to his own starting pitcher for their commendable effort, despite not securing a win through no fault of their own.

“Our pitcher was outstanding as well,” Bochy remarked on Sunday regarding starter Michael Lorenzen.

And therein lies the trend. It’s the “too” that follows the acknowledgment. The Rangers’ starting pitchers have performed admirably, deserving of significant credit, yet their offensive counterparts have hindered their ability to fully enjoy it.

Lorenzen held a shutout into the seventh inning until former Ranger Willie Calhoun (double) and Jo Adell (walk) reached base, scoring the eventual game-tying and go-ahead runs. Jonathan Hernández replaced Lorenzen with two runners on and one out, witnessing four runs scored on his watch.

The bullpen, with its league-worst 5.23 ERA, is undeniably problematic. Additionally, the offense, which provided only one run of support for Lorenzen, dropped the Rangers back to .500 at 24-24.

Despite the Rangers’ rotation, including Lorenzen’s Sunday start, boasting a 3.07 ERA in May, starters have only a 3-6 record. Among rotations with a sub-four ERA this month, only starters from the fourth-place Washington Nationals and fifth-place Cincinnati Reds have recorded three or fewer wins.

Lorenzen, who pitched a seven-inning one-hitter on Monday versus the Guardians, allowed just two earned runs in 13 and 1/3 innings but received only one run of support from his offense. The Rangers are winless in his two starts.

“You just try to do your best each time out,” said Lorenzen, winless in May despite a 3.20 ERA in four starts. “You let the results take care of themselves—pitching, offense—you don’t worry about that. You just go out and do the best you possibly can.”

Similarly, Jon Gray boasts a 2.08 ERA but only two wins in nine starts this season. José Ureña has a 2.04 ERA in three starts but only a 1-1 record. Andrew Heaney is winless in May despite a 2.49 ERA in four starts.

Lorenzen’s lone run of support came Sunday when Corey Seager’s home run gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead. Seager has been impressive lately, slashing .304/.403/.536 with four home runs in his last 15 games.

The Rangers need their cornerstone, World Series MVP Shortstop, to continue his resurgence after a sluggish April, especially as the rest of the lineup struggles. Adolis García, Wyatt Langford, and Josh Jung were absent on Sunday, and the Rangers were hitless through three innings against Soriano before Seager’s home run.

Semien doubled in the sixth inning, and Seager was intentionally walked, loading the bases with two outs in the eighth. However, Jonah Heim’s flyout to center ended the rally.

The Rangers have struggled with bases loaded situations since April and have the seventh-lowest slugging percentage in baseball since May began.

“We’re missing some slug, we’re just not slugging like we normally do,” Bochy noted. “That’s why we’re sitting on one run or two runs for the most part here the last, what, nine, ten days.”

In four of their last nine games, the Rangers have scored only one or two runs. Even with a strong starting rotation, it’s challenging to compensate for such offensive struggles.