Oh, yeah. The Rangers traded for a starter other than Max Scherzer.

Last night was the Rangers debut of Jordan Montgomery, the thirty-year-old lefty Texas acquired from St Louis along with reliever Chris Stratton.

Like Scherzer the day before, Montgomery picked up a win in his first Rangers start, with six innings of work. He allowed just two earned runs, one in the first and one in the second, striking out six and giving up just six hits.

Scherzer may have received the headlines, but Montgomery is a quality arm who solidifies the Rangers rotation, slotting nicely into the number-two behind Scherzer. If Eovaldi comes back, Montgomery will be a more than capable third starter.

Suddenly, a Rangers rotation that seemed wobbly and in need of being held together with duct tape and paper clips is formidable again.

And the bullpen, which was an embarrassment and a dumpster fire, is settling into a nice groove with the addition of Aroldis Chapman and Chris Stratton. 

Rangers general manager Chris Young seized the opportunity to improve his club at the trade deadline, bringing in four arm that are literally a shot in the arm to this team.

Pitching is contagious, and the Rangers rotation is feeding off one another. With their 6-2 win yesterday over the Miami Marlins, Rangers starting pitchers have now earned the win in four straight games for only the second time this season. It happened in late May with two wins against the Pirates, then two more against the Orioles.

Jon Gray gets the chance to stretch it to five in a row today.

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