We’re not in Baltimore anymore.


E Odor: Rougned Odor sails a throw to second into left field for an error.

Well, it’s a totally different game when they don’t play the Orioles.

The Rangers don’t get twenty hits. They don’t score ten runs. Rougned Odor doesn’t go anything-for-anything. They don’t win a baseball game.

Last night, when push came to shove, the Rangers shoved a win aside and allowed sloppy defense in the eleventh inning to derail them.

Reality sets in. And that reality is how far the Rangers have to go. Even still, Texas has already won more games this season than they did last season. And only one other team can claim that—the Minnesota Twins. Last season, Minnesota won 78 games. This year, they have already won 89. 

A lot has been made of this last 17 game stretch against elite teams all fighting for a playoff run. Rangers manager Chris Woodward said he looked forward to it because it was a true test of what he team was made of.

It’s a measuring stick to. And, after one game, his team does not measure up. The running tally of the final 17 against elite teams is 0-1. 

But, as an eternal optimist would view it, with 16 games remaining, that means the Rangers can’t lose more than 90 games. 

*****

TODAY’S GAME:

Andrew Kittredge (1-0, 4.17) vs. Ariel Jurado (7-10, 5.40)

Game time: 7:05