After one of the most eventful weekends in Texas Rangers Franchise history, we can all exhale. In the midst of a 3 game set with the fellow wild-card hunting Baltimore Orioles, Adrian Beltre continued to inch closer and closer to 3,000 career hits, by Sunday reaching 2,999. That same Sunday, Ranger legend Pudge Rodriguez was slated to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. But, perhaps, the most intriguing story was the looming non-waiver trade deadline, which came and went Monday afternoon with the Rangers immensely involved.
Wild-Card Chase
Jeff Banister’s squad entered the weekend series at home against Baltimore fresh off the heels of a much-needed day off. Prior to Thursday’s rest, the Rangers got ransacked by the lowly Miami Marlins, losing 22-10. After losing 2 of 3 against possibly the most dysfunctional organization in baseball, Texas dropped to 5.5 games back of a Wild-Card position.
On Friday night, with Adrian Beltre needing 4 hits to enter the coveted 3,000 hit club, the Rangers got strong contributions from Andrew Cashner and the pitching staff, only allowing 1 earned run en-route to an 8-2 series opening victory. Beltre contributed mightily, Batting in 2 runs and putting himself 2 hits closer to baseball immortality.
Saturday, however, was a different story. In front of a packed crowd eager to witness history in Adrian Beltre, the Rangers came out flat, giving up 4 runs early on, and weren’t able to dig out of their early hole, losing 4-0.
After Beltre contributed another hit Saturday, all eyes were on “El Càpitan” on Sunday, needing only 1 hit to join the exclusive group of players to reach 3,000 Major League hits. Once again, the Orioles struck first, hanging a 4-spot on Texas in the top of the fourth. What followed in the bottom half in the inning, however, will be remembered by Rangers fans forever. With 1 on and 1 out, the great Adrian Beltre smoked a laser past Manny Machado at 3rd and into left field, solidifying Beltre as the 31st player in MLB history to reach 3,000 career hits.
Despite the energy and juice of such a milestone being accomplished, the Rangers would go on to fall 10-6, losing the second straight series, thus solidifying the Rangers as deadline sellers.
Pudge’s Hall of Fame induction
On Sunday, Ivàn Rodriguez was inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame, becoming the 4th Puerto Rican to do so. “Pudge” spent 13 seasons playing in Texas, becoming a fan-favorite and helping the Rangers reach their first post-season in Franchise history (1996) and two after (1998 and 1999). The Hall of Fame status for Pudge is well-deserved; in 21 seasons in the Majors, Rodriguez batted .296, hit 311 Home runs, and provided well above-average defense from behind the plate.
It was a weekend full of ups and downs for the organization as it enters a stretch critical to the future of Rangers baseball. Stay tuned to stay updated with every Rangers news story!
