The Texas Rangers are currently on a nine game winning streak as they will look to keep it rolling tonight at home against the Pittsburgh Pirates. With the streak, the Rangers have pushed their overall record to 42-28, a whopping .600 percentage. Winning three out of five games in the MLB is a remarkable accomplishment. If they continue on that pace, then the Rangers would win 97 games. They may need to stay on this pace since they are only three and a half games ahead of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. During the nine game winning streak, the Angels have only lost three games. Nevertheless, the Rangers play is quite refreshing.
What has led to this marvellous play over the past week and a half? Surprisingly, for a team that has been known solely for hitting for decades, the Rangers pitching has been outstanding during the streak. During the streak, the highest amount of runs scored in a game against the Rangers has been four runs. The team ERA over the past nine games is an astounding 2.89!
Second, playing against bad teams in the National League definitely helps. The teams that the Rangers have defeated during the streak are the Milwaukee Brewers, the Florida Marlins, the Houston Astros, and the Pirates. All four of those teams are under .500. The Brewers pitching is virtually nonexistent. The Marlins mailed in the season by firing their manager Fredi Gonzalez today. The Astros are so bad that pitcher Roy Oswalt wants to be traded even though he has repeatedly stated in the past that he wanted to remain an Astro his entire career. The Pirates are the Pirates; possessing the worst record in the National League. Fortunately for Texas, they have two more games against Pittsburgh.
The final key to the Rangers current streak has been the reemergence of OF Josh Hamilton. Hamilton started off the season mired in a power slump. Now, he leads Texas with 17 homers and a .339 batting average. Hopefully, he won’t fall off of the wagon again.
The outlook for the Rangers will continue to be bright. OF Nelson Cruz was reactivated to the roster yesterday so even more firepower will be added to the lineup. Watch and see how long this streak will continue!
