This is a different Rangers offense for sure. Used to be, they’d score a run early, like the second or third inning, then pack up their bats and go home.

This latter-day version is scoring late and scoring runs in bunches.

Sure, it’s against the lowly Sacramento Athletics. But it wasn’t too long ago that the Rangers were the lowly Texas Rangers.

At their lowest, they were six games under .500, at 29-35, on June 6. But they’ve won seven of their last ten to poke to two games over, and they are getting production up and down their lineup. Last night, every started except Evan Carter got a hit. And they struck out only three times in their 7-2 win.

If they want to crawl back in to the playoff picture, they’re going to need to keep this up, keep beating the teams they should be beating, keep winning two of three against better teams like Houston and Detroit, sweep teams like Sacramento.

It’s a long, uphill climb. But at least they are going forward and not sliding down backward.

*****