The 2o21 Major League Baseball regular season is approaching the halfway point. That also means that it is time to review how the first half went for the Texas Rangers. Many players, managers, and front-office executives see the All-Star break as a time for reflection. They use it to evaluate how their team is doing, as well as think of ways to improve on the year. No team is perfect, and it would be foolish for anyone to think that they don’t have room to reflect and improve. Leading up to the 2021 All-Star Game on July 13th at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado, here’s a look at the Rangers’ first half of the 2021 campaign.
Hot and Cold
As a result of their efforts so far this year, the Rangers’ record currently sits at 34-53. Much like the temperatures in Texas this year, they have seen both hot and cold streaks. Right now, they reside in last place in the American League West division. They are 19.5 games behind the first-place Houston Astros. In their most recent series at Globe Life Field, they lost two out of three against the Detroit Tigers. They will finish the first half at home with a three-game series against the Oakland Athletics. They have taken a few series’ here and there, and they have two sweeps to their credit this year. The first one was against Houston in late May, and the second came in late June against the Kansas City Royals. Both of them occurred at Globe Life Field. They were among the bright spots of the Rangers’ first half of 2021.
Power at the Plate
The two main power threats that the Rangers have in their lineup this year are outfielders Adolis Garcia, and Joey Gallo. Both of these guys are going to the All-Star Game along with teammate Kyle Gibson. It is also worth mentioning that Gallo will be participating in the 2021 Home Run Derby on July 12th. That announcement came on Thursday afternoon. After a slow start, Gallo has been on fire as of late. In Thursday’s 5-3 loss to Detroit, he blasted another two home runs, bringing his total to 22 along with a .239 batting average and 51 RBI so far this year. Garcia, meanwhile, has been just as impressive. He has 21 home runs, trailing Gallo by only one moonshot. He also has 59 RBI to his credit to go along with his .273 average. The back and forth between these two guys have been really fun to watch.
Quiet Success on the Mound
The aforementioned Kyle Gibson has been having a very nice season. He has a record of 6-0 on the year. He also has an impressive earned run average of 1.98 along with 81 strikeouts and he has given up 29 walks. If he keeps this up, he could possibly be in the discussion for the 2021 AL Cy Young award. He, along with fellow pitchers John King and Ian Kennedy have been the guys that have kept the Rangers above water in 2021. Kennedy has filled in nicely for the injured closer Jose Leclerc, who has been recovering from Tommy John surgery. Another thing to watch for in the second half is if they shift anyone from the bullpen to the starting rotation as they did with lefty Taylor Hearn earlier this year. Whatever tricks that they have up their sleeves, the next couple of months will be interesting in Arlington. The Rangers’ first half hasn’t really been much to write home about. Let’s hope the second half is better.
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
Players Mentioned:
Adolis Garcia, Joey Gallo, Kyle Gibson, John King, Ian Kennedy, Jose Leclerc, Taylor Hearn
