Nothing lasts forever. This is basically the only thing that winning streaks and losing streaks have in common. Using this logic, the Texas Rangers seem to be in much better spirits in recent weeks. They took a 10-6 loss on Sunday afternoon to the Colorado Rockies, but they had a good weekend overall taking two out of three from Colorado, leading the club to a series victory. Here is what we can take away from their most recent stretch of games.
Home Cooking
In their most recent homestand, the Rangers really put on a show in front of their temporary cardboard cutout faithful. They won five and lost only one at their new Globe Life Field. Fans or no fans, hopefully, this is a good indication of things to come when the Rangers are playing in Arlington and get the chance to sleep in their own beds. They have improved to seven wins and four losses at Globe Life Field on the 2020 season. They’re set to return to Arlington from their recent West Coast trip to start another homestand on Monday, August 17th against the San Diego Padres. This one, however, is only a short two-game series, and then they go back out on the road.
New Faces Providing Renewed Spirit
The Rangers have a couple of new additions to the roster who are making things very interesting. They would be veteran utility player Derek Dietrich, and rookie right-handed reliever Jonathan Hernandez. With his solid performance out of the bullpen, Hernandez seems to have locked up a spot for late-inning work. As for Dietrich, he has not secured an everyday spot in the starting lineup yet, but that could be changing soon especially with the hot and cold at-bats of Rangers Second Baseman Rougned Odor who is only hitting .140 with one home run, and four RBI. In the Rangers most recent series against the Rockies at Coors Field, Dietrich hit his first home run since July 13, 2019, when he was in a Cincinnati Reds uniform. That home run came in just his third game as a Ranger, and he has had several great hits since joining Texas earlier this year.
The Ace’s Solid Effort
You also have starting pitcher Lance Lynn. In his second year with Texas, he already has his 100th career win and a complete game under his belt. He has definitely proven himself as the ace of this Rangers pitching staff. In 2020, Lynn has a record of three wins and no losses, with an earned run average under two. This adds on nicely to his 2019 record of 16-11 with an earned run average of 3.67. Both he and the Rangers should be very happy about that.
Things are looking good right now. Rangers President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Jon Daniels should be pleased, but there is still a lot of work to be done. With a portion of the season behind them, the Rangers feel good about where they are, and they are not about to ease up on the gas pedal.
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