Not so fast.
The Rangers anointment to contenders took a hit yesterday when they were forced to play a major league team.
After being gifted a reprieved in the major league schedule with four games against the Single-A White Sox, the Rangers took their five-game winning streak and their suddenly renewed swagger to Canada.
It was quickly vanquished.
It all started when Corey Seager failed to touch second on the first half of what should have been an inning-ending double play in the bottom of the first.
Instead of politely accepting their fate like most Canadians do, the Blue Jays challenged the call. It was obvious that Seager missed second. Instead of three outs, there were now two.
Toronto took advantage of that blunder and piled on three runs to erase the 1-0 lead Texas took in the top of the first.
Texas tied it in the third, Toronto took a one-run lead in the fourth, Texas the lead back in the fifth, Toronto tied it in the seventh, and they won it on the bottom of the ninth.
Both Houston and Seattle won (the Mariners have been gifted a series with the White Sox), meaning the Rangers dropped a game behind.
Now they are 5-3 coming out of the break, and still not really revealing whether they’re going to put in a serious run for the playoffs.
They have two more games in Toronto to show they are for real.
They need to win those. For real.
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TODAY’S GAME: