PHOTO: John Froschauer/Imagn Images
Don’t look now, but as of this writing, your Texas Rangers have won five games in a row and are 0.5 games back in the wild card and only 5.0 games behind the Houston Astros in the AL West.
Going 8-2 in your last ten games will climb you out of a hole pretty quickly in the Major Leagues, and that is precisely what has happened for the Rangers. The trade deadline has gone from sellers to looking for someone who can help make the club even better for an October run.
Will the Rangers keep playing this type of baseball for the rest of the year?
Nobody knows for sure, but the odds are high that they will, as they continue to get players back from the IL, with Jon Gray being the latest return.
This club was built as a slug-first type of team, and when everything is clicking, the offense is pretty fun to watch on a nightly basis.The surprise, however, is how good the pitching has been for the Rangers.Pitching
Jacob deGrom has been healthy and contributed regularly. Big game, Nate, otherwise known as Nathan Eovaldi, has played like the team’s ace. Youngster Jack Leiter has been learning on the fly but has been doing a remarkable job in the rotation for the Rangers. The Rangers of the nineties had some of the game’s most potent lineups, which could pummel pitchers day in and day out, but as we all saw, they never made the World Series because pitching is the key to any successful postseason run.
If the offense and pitching can start clicking as one unit, then this team may surprise some people not only by making the playoffs but by making a run at another World Series title.
Hitting
PHOTO: John Froschauer/Imagn Images
Corey Seager is the team’s best hitter, and recently, he has started to show why, as he has been on fire. In his last 30 games, he has an average of .313 with nine home runs and 24 RBIs. It seems that Seager has started to turn around his early-season struggles and start playing like the all-star caliber of player he has been for most of his career. Injuries have slowed him down some this season, but if he can stay healthy, that will help the Rangers’ success.
Wyatt Langford has been struggling for most of the season, and if he can figure out how to get fixed at the plate, he alone will be like adding a big-time bat to your lineup without having to spend any money or prospects at the trade deadline.
When the season began, most fans thought that the Rangers would make the playoffs this season. After a few months of the season, fans were ready to see who would be gone at the trade deadline. Now the Rangers are back in the hunt for the playoffs, and hopefully they can maintain their current high level and finish strong to catch the hated Astros and win an NL West division title.
Wishful thinking? Perhaps, however, this team has shown that they will not stop competing, even when they are going through the struggles of everyday life in the majors.
In Baseball, a lot has to go right for your team to get into the hunt and compete for a World Series title.
Down in Arlington, however, things appear to be on the upswing, so let’s sit back and enjoy watching the Rangers play some good baseball.
Tags: AL West American League astros Bruce Bochy Corey Seager Houston Astros Jack Leiter Jon Gray MLB MLB Playoffs playoffs Rangers Texas Rangers Wyatt Langford