Yesterday, Mich Moreland anchored the Texas Rangers to the first place in the American League West with a walk-off sacrifice fly in the 10th inning against the Houston Astros. Today, the Rangers have yet again overpowered the Astros, giving themselves a 1.5 game lead in the division.
Dallas Keuchel was ravaged by Prince Fielder and the Rangers. He allowed nine runs on 11 hits (three of them home runs) in 4.2 innings pitched. This was been his shortest outing and clearly his worst of the year. He had previously dominated the Rangers all season long (.217 opponent average, only two home runs allowed) before today.
The question is this: how did Texas find its way into first place when they were desperately clinging to third, behind the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, just one month ago. What happened?
As the Rangers were grew hotter and hotter, the Astros started getting colder and colder. September has been terrific for Adrian Beltre and the Rangers, but not so much for the Astros. Over the last 10 games, Houston has won two and lost eight; over the same period of time Texas has won seven and lost three. Both rotations have been nasty during this month, posting a combined 4.39 ERA. Houston started to see struggles in their rotation back in August, especially in Scott Kazmir, who has a 4.04 ERA with one win and five losses since then. Additionally, Collin McHugh was splendid in August (1.89 ERA) but depressing in September (5.40 ERA). Colby Lewis of the Texas Rangers flirted with a no-hitter this month, giving them momentum for the last stretch.
What about the offensive?
Adrian Beltre and Prince Fielder have been Texas’ motor, posting 19 RBI, four home runs, and 18 runs scored combined. Even still, the Rangers have been worse than the Astros in the batter’s box during September, posting a .231 team batting average (28th overall) and 13 home runs (22nd overall). The Astros have a .263 team average with 19 home runs for the month.
However, there are still 18 games left to be played and anything can happen. As of right now, both teams are in playoffs. Which team will clinch the AL West? Stay tuned to find out.
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