Photo Courtesy: Darryl Briggs
After losing a home series against the Seattle Mariners, the Texas Rangers needed to pull together and stay focused. In order to do that, they needed to win their series against the Oakland Athletics. However, they did more than win the series, they swept the Athletics and are now three and a half games ahead of Houston in the A.L. West. Now the Rangers are on their way to Houston for a three-game series. This is it for the Rangers. This may be their most important series of the season and they must win it. If the Rangers were to sweep the Astros, they’d find themselves up six games.
In Oakland, Martin Perez took the mound in Game 1 for Texas. Pitching just four innings, Perez allowed six hits, surrendered five runs, and struck out only three batters. Remarkable performance by the Rangers bullpen, as they allowed only three hits, and surrendered just one run. The Rangers trailed early 4-1 but came back and won the game 8-6. Rangers offense finished with a total of twelve hits, and were struck out a combined a six times.
Colby Lewis pitched for Texas in Game 2. In a short five-inning game, Lewis allowed five hits, surrendered only two runs, and struck out three batters. Another excellent game for the Rangers offense, finishing with a total of eleven hits while being struck out a combined five times. It was great to see Elvis Andrus and Adrian Beltre both hit three-run home runs. Another great performance by the Rangers bullpen, finishing with allowing just one hit and surrendering just one run. The Rangers ended up winning 10-3. This win gave Lewis his third consecutive win.
Cole Hamels was on the mound for third and final game. Through six innings, Hamels allowed only four hits, surrendered just one unearned run and struck out two batters. The Rangers offense had another great game as they finished with a total of 13 hits, and were struck out a combined six times. Yet, we saw another great performance by the Rangers bullpen, allowing just three hits, and surrendering no runs. The Rangers finished with another big win with a final score of 8-1.
The Rangers will begin their series against the Astros tonight. Yovani Gallardo will step on the mound for the Rangers, and he will look to end a two-game skid. The Rangers’ ultimate goal is to sweep the Astros.
Upcoming Games – All Times CT
9/25 @Astros 7:00 pm
9/26 @Astros 12:05 pm
9/27 @Astros 1:10 pm
