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First impressions means an awful lot, so the first few days of the new baseball season have a tendency to stick with you. A big win on Opening Day, or a clutch hit -- things like that stay in your mind all season. It’s human nature.

For Royals and Rangers fans, what they’re going to remember most about the first few games of the season are the failures of their bullpens. The Royals lost to the Twins on Wednesday (MIN 9, KC 1) partly because their bullpen allowed Minnesota pull away. The Rangers, meanwhile, lost to the Rangers (CLE 9, TEX 6) because closer Sam Dyson coughed up a lead in dramatic fashion. He served up a go ahead grand slam to Francisco Lindor:

Dyson also took the loss on Opening Day as well. He was charged with three runs in two-thirds of an inning after entering a tie game in the ninth inning. Wednesday night he entered the ninth with a two-run lead and turned it into a three-run loss. Dyson was charged with five runs in one-third of an inning. Woof.

Here is what the two bullpens have combined to do so far this season:

IP

H

R

ER

BB

K

HR

Royals

5

10

12

12

8

5

1

Rangers

8 2/3

11

10

10

4

8

2

Total

13 2/3

21

22

22

12

13

3

Egads. The Royals have had a tougher go of it in the early going, though they didn’t suffer a pair of heartbreaking losses like the Rangers. Monday’s and Wednesday’s games were very winnable for Texas before Dyson coughed them up. Kansas City was already trailing by time their bullpen took over. The relievers just couldn’t keep the score close.

The good news is the season is two games old for the Royals and three games old for the Rangers, and no, their bullpens are not really this bad. No bullpen is this bad. Dyson has had a tough stretch, but he’s a really good pitcher -- he saved 38 games with a 2.43 ERA (186 ERA+) last season -- who deserves the benefit of the doubt. If he’s still struggling in a few weeks, then it’ll be time to worry.

Things are magnified early in the season, and the bullpen issues the Royals and Rangers have dealt with these first few days will leave a bitter taste in everyone’s mouth. The losses are in the books and there’s nothing more they can do than turn the page and know there are better days ahead for their relief crew. There’s nowhere to go but up from here.