This is what you’d expect when the Texas Rangers play the Texas Rangers. They have an excellent chance to win. But the games will be close.
The only team worse on the road than the Texas Rangers is the Colorado Rockies. So, the Rangers are getting a taste of what it’s like to play a patsy road team. For once, tough, they aren’t the patsy.
They should invite the Rockies here more often. The Rangers offense has totally come to life. After taking nearly four months off, the Rangers opening day lineup seems to have finally arrived.
Nathanial Lowe is on fire. He’s hitting .390 over the past two weeks with a remarkable 1.047 OPS. He picked up three more hits last night, including a home run, driving in two. Lowe started the season strong, then disappeared in May, June, July and the first few weeks of August. He’s found new life.
Nick Solak lost his feel at the plate, then lost his job. His average sunk all the way to .225 with very little power or production. After spending a month in the minor leagues, he’s back with a .364 average and a 1.006 OPS since being recalled.
Leody Taveras came into the series having just four hits. He has three so far this series. Two home runs and a double. His average has soared from .066 to .099. If it gets over 1.00, then you can start taking him seriously.
These last-season surges, while welcome, are always cause for frustration. If one recalls Rougned Odor, he hits only two times a season, without fail, including this one. He hits in July, and the last two weeks of September. So, every year, he got a bounce of optimism going into the offseason, only to totally fall flat on his face for 20 of the 26 weeks of the next season. Oh, but those last two weeks are amazing.
So, while it’s great to see, this offensive awakening needs to sustain itself before you can buy into these players as viable options for next year. Let’s see if they can keep this up on the road. Or, better yet, keep it up when they play a team other than the road Rockies.
Don’t get me wrong. It’s great to see. We just need to see more to know this is more real than fluke.
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TODAY’S GAME:
