Walk to balk. Newly-acquired second baseman Rougned Odor steals a run with his legs, drawing a walk, stealing second, taking third on an error, then making a mad dash for home and drawing a balk.

The Rangers offense is rolling. Their starters are keeping them in games. Their bullpen is reliable.

This team is playing great baseball right now.

The Rangers, in fact, are playing their best stretch of baseball since their ten-game winning streak in May. They’ve won eight of their last twelve games.

Order the Champagne. Print up the World Series tickets. This is going to be some run.

If only we could use one of those Neurolyzers from Men In Black on Rangers fans. We would forget that, while they are currently eight out of twelve, they lost the four games before that. So, they are eight of their last sixteen.  Or .500.

And therein lies the problem. No matter how you slice and dice it, this team always reverts back to .500.

They went eight and four in early June. Then lost eight of their next twelve to get back to .500 for that stretch.

Memories are longer than winning streaks.

So, while this is fun, while the offense has been clicking, while everything is working, while the team is full of post-game swagger talking about how this is the team they were expecting they’d be, and this is “Rangers baseball,” I can’ help remembering I heard that exact same thing in May. And in early June. And in late June. And every time they win two in a row.

Show me it’s sustainable and I will believe it.

*****
TODAY’S GAME:

Anibal Sanchez (3-3, 6.69) vs. Cole Hamels (7-1, 3.31)
Game time: 7:05

How the Tigers hit against Hamels.
How the Rangers hit against Sanchez.