ARLINGTON -- Anyone who tuned out or turned away for two minutes in the second inning Sunday might have missed two of the most sensational defensive plays the Rangers have made this season.
Dazzling catches by center fielder Wyatt Langford and right fielder Adolis García ultimately weren’t enough to stave off a 4-2 loss to the Phillies, but they stood among the most amazing plays this season for a Texas team that led the Major Leagues in defensive runs saved (71) entering Sunday’s game.
On back-to-back batters, Langford and García each demonstrated extraordinary concentration and reflexes, in drastically different ways.
“Impressive catches,” manager Bruce Bochy said.
First, with one out, J.T. Realmuto ripped a liner to the gap in right-center field between Langford and García, who converged as Langford made the catch. Langford positioned himself behind García, who initially looked to have a better chance to make the play. Instead, the ball barely cleared García’s glove -- and Langford made a sliding basket catch after covering 75 feet in 4.2 seconds.
“I couldn’t tell who caught the ball,” Bochy said. “I got blocked out when [García] reached up for it, I thought he caught it. What a catch by Wyatt. ... He stayed with it. He’s done a really nice job in center field. He’s played well out there.”
Langford’s play had a catch probability of only 45 percent, according to Statcast. He reached a sprint speed of 28.2 feet per second to run down the ball.
“I had no idea [García] was even close to it until I went to slide,” Langford said. “So I’m glad I took that deeper route.”
Not to be outdone, García made a circus catch when Nick Castellanos hit a shallow fly ball to right. Garcia covered 103 feet in 5.4 seconds -- with a sprint speed of 27.8 feet per second -- but his catch was complicated.
The ball bounced off the heel of García’s glove, then ricocheted off his left thigh and caromed off his left shoulder. Tumbling to the ground, García reached out with his bare right hand and snagged the ball just inches off the turf.
With a 60 percent catch probability, García’s play should, in theory, been simpler than Langford’s. But judging by the looks of disbelief on the faces of the Rangers and Castellanos after García held up the ball to show he had it, the play was anything but easy.
“That was a pretty crazy catch he made,” Langford said.
Besides those highlights, there wasn’t much else in the three-game sweep that the Rangers would want to replay. Each game against Philadelphia had the same sour flavor: Texas had no trouble scoring in the first inning but managed just one run total in the other 24 frames.
“That was the story the whole series,” Bochy said. “We came out and scored in the first inning all three games. You like where you're at, the guys are swinging it well. ... Yeah, we're in a funk.
“It’s hard to win ballgames like that.”
The Rangers (60-59) have lost four in a row, dropping to 2 1/2 games behind the Yankees in the race for the final AL Wild Card spot.
“Guys [have] played well defensively. ... We’re playing good baseball, we’re just not swinging the bats right now,” Bochy said.
The Rangers grabbed a 2-0 lead on Joc Pederson’s two-run homer in the bottom of the first. Pederson’s two homers in this homestand were among the few encouraging developments offensively.
Closer Robert Garcia’s progression after a shaky stretch was another positive takeaway from the series at Globe Life Field.
Before the Phillies series, Garcia allowed five runs (four earned) in 1 1/3 innings over his previous three appearances. But he pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings in two outings against Philadelphia, including a quick eighth inning Sunday.
With the exception of Jacob deGrom’s workmanlike loss Saturday, the Rangers’ starting pitchers also withered during the current losing streak. Patrick Corbin threw 4 1/3 innings Sunday in another short start -- just like Jack Leiter on Wednesday (3 1/3 innings in a 3-2 loss to the Yankees) and Merrill Kelly on Friday (4 1/3 innings in a 9-1 loss to the Phillies).
“We’ve just got to move on from it,” Corbin said. “There’s a bunch of games left. We’ve got to start winning some of them.”