HOUSTON — Texas Rangers first baseman Jake Burger recognizes that two things can be true simultaneously.
Fact No. 1: A seven at-bat sample size stuffed into the course of a lengthy big league season can both mislead and become wholly irrelevant once the eighth arrives.
Fact No. 2: A seven at-bat sample size at this juncture, in the midst of a playoff chase where the margin for error is borderline nonexistent, can have significant consequences.
The latter point holds more weight at the moment.
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“Unfortunately,” Burger said, “I know I need to be better.”
Burger is hitless with five strikeouts in seven at bats through two costly losses to the Houston Astros at Daikin Park. On Monday, in a 6-3 loss, he went 0 for 4 with 3 strikeouts as the team’s cleanup hitter. On Tuesday, in a 6-5 loss, he went 0 for 3 with two strikeouts in the three hole and missed on two opportunities to produce a run.
He swung at 11 pitches outside of the strike zone over the course of those two games. Burger chased three pitches well off of the plate in his first at bat vs. rookie right-hander AJ Blubaugh for a three-pitch strikeout. In the second inning, after the Astros had taken a one-run lead, Burger swung at four Blubaugh pitches away to strike out, end the inning and strand rookie infielder Cody Freeman at second base.
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“He’s not seeing the ball,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. “He’s expanding. That’s what I’m seeing. Probably the same thing you’re seeing. I don’t know if it’s the park or what, but he’s expanding.”
It’s the antithesis of the direction that Burger had gone since the All-Star break. The 29-year-old had cut his chase rate down from 40% in the season’s first half to just 34.6% in the second half prior to Monday’s series opener.
“It’s one of those things where, obviously, you’re trying to help the team win but doing it in the confines of not pressing,” Burger said. “I don’t necessarily feel like I’m pressing. But, obviously when you’re chasing a little bit, adrenaline is probably pumped up a little bit.”
Burger believes his third at-bat of Tuesday’s loss — a six-pitch bout vs. left-hander Colton Gordon in which he chased just once — marked a sign of improvement. He grounded out on a changeup on the fringe of the strike zone to strand left fielder Wyatt Langford at second base.
“I need to be better within the strike zone,” Burger said. “They’re going to keep pitching how they do until I prove that I’m not going to swing at it.”
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