ARLINGTON, Texas — In baserunning, it's generally good to be either aggressive or cautious. The Rangers were both in Friday's 8-4 loss to the Rays and got caught in the middle.
The aggression showed up in the first inning when Elvis Andrus put a major hiccup in a Rangers rally by getting picked off first base.
"As many times as you can get out on the bag, and as many games as you play, sometimes you're going to get picked off," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "Maybe it wasn't the right time to do it, but sometimes you will get picked off."
In the eighth inning, the Rangers had the bases loaded when Rays reliever Wade Davis bounced a pitch back to the screen. Nelson Cruz hesitated at third before taking off for home and was thrown out at the plate.
One baserunner was too aggressive, the other too cautious.
The Rangers already were down 4-0 when Ian Kinsler led off the first with a double and Andrus followed with a single. With Josh Hamilton at the plate, the Rangers' odds of cutting into Tampa Bay's lead looked favorable.
However, Andrus strayed a bit too far off the bag and Rays starter James Shields, who picked off 12 runners last season, made him pay.
"It was a money throw and I kind of slipped a little bit," Andrus said. "That's something you learn as a runner. Next time I've got to shorten it up a little bit and not take risks as a runner. I'm an aggressive baserunner and that's the way it is."
Hamilton grounded out to short, scoring Kinsler. Andrus might have been erased on that grounder, but there's no way to know what could have happened without the pickoff. The next two batters reached on singles but the Rangers could not get another run across.
The Rangers also failed to score when Cruz paused on the wild throw in the eighth. It looked like Cruz could have scored if he hadn't hesitated, as the throw from catcher Chris Gimenez was just in time.
"Sometimes when you're at third base you're not going to get a good read," Washington said. "He [Cruz] didn't react properly, but next time it happens I'm certain he will. Things happen, but we're not going to stop being aggressive."
Andrus didn't let the pickoff spook him. He stole a base two innings later when he led off the third with a single to left. Andrus now is 4 for 4 in stolen base attempts this season and has stolen bases in three straight games.
The Rangers had another big decision on the basepaths in the sixth inning. Mitch Moreland hit a two-out double and might have scored when Kinsler followed with a sharply-hit single to right.
However, the bulky Moreland, who's stolen a grand total of five bases the past two seasons, was held up at third.
It was the conservative but smart move, considering Moreland's lack of speed. In hindsight, it might have been worth the risk of sending him since the next batter, Andrus, grounded out to end the inning.
But looking back, as the Rangers will tell you, can be deadly to a team determined to be aggressive on the bases.
Follow Keith Whitmire on Twitter: @Keith_Whitmire
