Yes, you can call me as crazy. Yes, this team recently had a six-game losing streak where they allowed 8.4 runs per game. Yes, after Wednesday’s win they are only one game over .500.
However, their next 17 games are against teams with losing records, or at .500(A’s). To add on, 11 of the 17 are at home. Currently, they are 1.5 games out of the Wild Card and if they go, say, 12-6 in these 18 games, they are six games over .500 and hopefully are MAYBE an in a Wild Card Spot?
While they recently have a six-game losing streak, they also have won seven out of their last eight and playing really good baseball. Yes, all of the teams were under .500 as well, but they are taking care of business against teams they need to. Taking a road series(!) against Kansas City, a home series against the Cardinals and a sweep of Seattle sets the tone for these next stretch of games. The 17 game stretch includes two road series in Los Angeles and Seattle, then a nine-game homestand against Kansas City, Baltimore, and Oakland.
Kansas City and Baltimore are just straight terrible. No excuses to not win at least four out of those six games. Especially at home. Nobody in Major League Baseball has more wins at home than the Rangers. They must take advantage of all the home games they possibly can. The key will always be trying to be a better road team. We will find out immediately in LA and Seattle.
The key has been and will continue to be MVP candidate Joey Gallo. If I told you even a year ago that Joey Gallo would be hitting .293 two months into the year, you’d slap me and call me an idiot. That is the type of insane year he is having. He is second in the AL in OBP, first in SLG, and first in OPS. His offensive numbers have been insane. On top of all of that, he has been really solid in the outfield, playing all over.
Now, I understand that the Rangers being a wild card team has more to it than the Rangers. The AL East is currently ridiculous. The Rays and Yankees are the best teams in the AL, and after a slower start and possible World Series hangover, the Red Sox are back above .500 and ready to contend in the division. One of the Wild Card spots is going to an AL East, so it really is a race for the second spot. The real teams to compete with right now are the Red Sox, Indians, and anyone within the AL West that also want to start winning.
The odds of being in a Wild Card spot by the end of this 17 game stretch are actually fairly good. The odds of being in a Wild Card spot a few weeks after that? We’ll see, but I would not get my hopes up.
If the Rangers can become just a .500 team on the road, they are going to end with a lot better record than people expected.
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