Texas Rangers seem to be getting their mojo back
For the second straight night, the Texas Rangers win on a walk-off three-run homer, and they finally have momentum on their side.
The Texas Rangers celebrated a huge walk-off win thanks to Mike Napoli‘s three-run blast Thursday night. They enjoyed it so much that they asked for an encore, which Joey Gallo gave them Friday night. With the back-to-back walk-off wins, the Rangers have now won four straight and the fun that defined this team last season seems to be rearing its head again.
The perfect opponents
It’s naive to think that this has all happened purely based on ability. Granted, the Rangers entered the season as favorites in the AL West for a reason. Heck, they won 95 frickin’ games last season. This team has talent. But the San Diego Padres could not have arrived on the schedule at a better time.
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The Padres entered the odd home-and-home series with Texas just a game behind them record-wise. Like the Rangers, San Diego sat near the bottom of their league in wins and losses, desperate to win any way possible.
The two teams entered play with struggling offenses and a pitching staff that was under-performing. Granted, that last point was more-so for the Rangers, but still. The Padres have a worse staff earned run average than the Rangers and opposing teams have pretty similar batting averages against each team.
But at the end of the day, the Texas Rangers did exactly what they were supposed to do. They took three out of four from the Padres and sent them back to San Diego battered, bruised and walked-on. (Or would it be walked-off?)
Then came the Oakland Athletics. They entered Friday’s game just one game ahead of the Rangers in the AL West standings. The A’s enjoyed a night off after taking down the also-struggling Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Tuesday afternoon.
Their team batting average, while 12 points above the Rangers’, was still a meager .232 entering the series. Oakland led Texas by a slim margin in team on base percentage and slugging percentage before Friday. The two teams even have a 3-3 record against each other on the season. Yet, Texas has a better rotation and should have the better bullpen. But those differences are just on paper.
The perfect attitude
Texas has some pretty big names and big arms on their roster. But along with that talent comes a measure of spunk and swagger. You know, that #nevereverquit attitude that made them who they were in 2016? They’ve tried for nearly a month and a half to revive it.
Not only have they now won four straight, but they’ve come from behind in three straight ballgames now. Wednesday night featured a 3-1 deficit that ended up as a 4-3 victory. Thursday night, they went from trailing 2-0 to winning 5-2 and Friday they repeated the trick by starting down 2-1 and winning 5-2.
What’s great is that the more this happens, the more their chances improve to do it some more. They thrive on it. They enjoy dousing each other with Gatorade during post-game interviews. But more than that, they love winning and they’re starting to get used to it.
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This kind of thing can grow. The more these guys realize what they’re capable of, the more they’ll turn things on late. Now, let’s just hope they can keep it up. If they do, then watch out. Watch out Houston, because the AL West race will is on, now.