ARLINGTON, Texas - Remember all that positive energy that Robbie Ross Jr. created with his five no-hit innings Saturday in Houston only two days after pitching for Round Rock?
He negated all of that Thursday night against Seattle, regressing to the point where he retired just five batters before getting yanked in a 10-2 blowout loss to the Mariners.
If the left-hander is trying to leave an impression with the club in his bid to become a starter the one he left Thursday was all wrong.
Ross started his own undoing in a second inning that saw seven-consecutive Mariners reach after he retired the first two batters.
Ross made the worst kinds of mistakes in the inning. He walked the No. 7 hitter to start his downfall. He followed that up with a walk to the No. 8 hitter. Then he gave up an RBI single to the No. 9 guy. At least the next four batters he faced were part of the heart of the Seattle order.
The results of those four at-bats were three singles and another walk. A second inning that started with six pitches to retire the first two batters ended for Ross as 43 pitches with the same two outs on the board.
"I just kept on picking around and trying to get out of jams and I just kept falling slower and slower into mistakes and things like that," Ross said. "One pitch away. I'm one pitch away from getting out of this and we'll go in there and swing the bats and get some runs back for me. It just never happened. I think I just tried to do too much instead of going out there and trusting what I had and getting quick outs."
By the time Edwards struck out Corey Hart to end the inning, the Mariners were up 6-0 and the Rangers were on their way to being the first team in the majors eliminated from any postseason contention.
Whether or not Ross has been eliminated from starting rotation contention this season remains to be seen. The Rangers will adjust their rotation after an off-day Monday and there are no guarantees Ross gets another start.
Texas manager Ron Washington didn't fault Ross' effort or preparedness Thursday.
"He just couldn't execute a pitch to get out of that inning," Washington said. "I think three of the seven batters he faced he had two strikes on them and he couldn't put them away. He just lost his command. He just needed one pitch to get out of that inning. One pitch."
Ross, who dropped to 2-6 and saw his ERA go to 6.25, knows what's at stake given so many pitchers are vying for opportunities with the club as they close out the season.
"Having an outing like I did in Houston and then having this happen it doesn't help," Ross said. "It's one of those games today where I look back and see where I could have done things different and I can grow from it. Obviously I wanted to come out here and kind of capitalize on the fact I had such a good game in Houston and just kind of move on from there. It didn't happen today so we'll see what happens the next time."
