The Texas Rangers were aggressive at the trade deadline. They traded for Mad Max Scherzer, Jordan Montgomery, and Austin Hedges. Mad Max Scherzer is an established “name” guy, a three time Cy Young winner, and eight time All-Star. The flamethrower with heterochromia used to be one of the best pitchers in baseball. That was in 2015 when he was at the peak of his powers. He is now 39 years old and has lost a bit off his fastball. Mad Max throws from a three quarters arm slot and has a nasty change and slider. He also has a warrior’s spirit and is a true competitor. He might be slightly over the hill, but the Rangers needed pitching help as usual. Jacob deGrom is hurt. Nathan Eovaldi is hurt. Mad Max will be the new ace of the team. Part of trading for Max was getting him to opt into his player option next season. The Rangers traded the little brother of Ronald Acuna Jr, Luisangel Acuna, to get him. Hopefully Mad Max has enough in the tank to be an asset. His slider has lost some bite, the heater some sizzle. He has given up a plethora of homers this year. Mad Max will need to channel his insane competitiveness and veteran experience to anchor the Rangers staff for the next two years.
Jordan Montgomery was the other pitcher the Rangers added. “Monty” is a good lefty that has a career ERA of 3.76. He will need to step up big down the stretch drive. They also added reliever Chris Stratton. Stratton throws mainly a curveball and fastball, both of which have sky high spin rates. This means the pitches have significant and sharp movement. The Rangers sent away infielder Thomas Saggese, Tekoah Roy, and the disappointing John King to the Cardinals.
The Rangers also added a tepid, defensive-minded catcher in Austin Hedges. They gave up some cash to get him. They did this because the best catcher in the AL, Jonah Heim, hurt his wrist. Josh Jung was injured by a screaming liner that broke his thumb shortly after. Both of these injuries came after top tier slugger Corey Seager hurt his thumb. The Rangers are dealing with a rash of injuries to multiple All-Stars. In the face of adversity they reeled off eight straight wins. The lowly White Sox were demolished in Texas. The Rangers won a pitchers duel that lasted less than two hours to open the series. The Rangers demolished the Sox in game two, 11-1. They capped the sweep with a 5-3 win.
The Miami Marlins brought their weak offense to Texas and got swept. They got shutout once, and scored two runs in the other game. The most important game of the series was an insane comeback by the Rangers. They initially trailed 5-0, but brought it back and won 9-8.
The Rangers went to Oakland to play in front of a dozen people after the sweep of Miami. Important young slugger Zeke Duran executed a nice bunt to fuel a comeback in game one. The second game was a boring Rangers win, the Jokeland fans that did not leave early had their cars broken into. The final game was a snoozer where the Rangers had to rest their stars. The injuries gut the Rangers offensive depth, making rest days more punishing. The Rangers were shutout by the Oakland AAA’s to cap this infuriating loss. Leody Taveras looks like he forgot how to hit over the All-Star break. He went 0-4 in this game, as did Nate Lowe. Lowe has excelled since the break, unlike Taveras. Monty turned in a quality start in the 0-2 loss.
The Rangers sit atop the AL West by 2.5 games going into the 2010 World Series rematch against the Giants. Game 1 of the 2010 World Series in San Fran was the crucial game, which is rare. Cliff Lee did not have it in that start, and it set the tone for the series as he was outdueled by Tim “The Freak” Lincecum. Lee’s defense let him down in that affair, especially Michael Young. The Rangers were butchered beyond recognition in the subsequent game by Matt Cain, 9-0. Those were two very important games in Rangers history that occurred at the infrequently visited AT&T Park.
The Rangers have benefitted from a consistent offense this season. Marcus Semien is solid and consistent. Corey Seager is putting up MVP numbers despite being hurt for half the season. Nate Lowe is the picture of consistency at first. He has improved his biggest weakness: his defense. He heats up as the year goes on and hits the ball to all fields. He plays the game the right way. Electric Cuban Adolis “El Bombi” Garcia hits cleanup. El Bombi is tremendously strong, has a cannon for an arm, and cut down on his strikeouts significantly. He is incredibly talented and fun to watch. Josh Jung usually hits 5th, deserves to win Rookie of the Year, but is hurt. Jonah Heim is the best catcher in the AL, usually hits 6th, but is hurt. He will be able to play soon though. Jung will be out for 6 more weeks. Seager is tanking through his injury like a true star and putting up God tier numbers with improved defense. He should finish top three in MVP voting this season.
Utility man Zeke Duran has been powerful and dangerous at the plate all season. He will fill in for the hurt Jung. He has been incredibly lethal at the plate and is a pure hitter. Travis Jankowski is fast and has been hitting over .300 all season. Mitch Garver has pop from the DH spot and has been very hot recently. It is easy to see why a healthy Rangers attack leads the AL.
The Rangers will try to decimate the Giants with their powerful offense and maintain the division lead.
Upcoming Schedule – All Times Central
8/11 @Giants – 9:15 p.m.
8/12 @Giants – 8:05 p.m.
8/13 @Giants – 3:05 p.m.
8/14 vs Angels – 7:05 p.m.
8/15 vs Angels – 7:05 p.m.
8/16 vs Angels – 7:05 p.m.
8/18 vs Brewers – 7:05 p.m.
8/19 vs Brewers – 3:05 p.m.
8/20 vs Brewers – 1:35 p.m.
