Following 'Huge Momentum Boost', Rangers Look to Build Off Series Win
While Texas Rangers manager Chris Woodward won't be judged entirely by wins and losses in 2021, taking three of four games from the Boston Red Sox is easily the accomplishment of the season.
The Rangers have been through some ups and down throughout their first month. Recently, they took two of three games from their rival Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim, but were then swept by the White Sox in Chicago and lost two of three in a rematch with the Angels at home. Rebounding against a team like Boston what exactly what they needed to right the ship.
"It's huge," said Rangers manager Chris Woodward. "Coming off the series in Chicago, [facing] these guys, it's important. We've played really good teams lately. It's hard to win a four-game series against any team, let alone, a team that is playing as well as the Red Sox have been coming in. That should give us a huge momentum boost."
The Rangers actually had a very tough schedule early on. To date, Texas had home series against the revamped Toronto Blue Jays, uber-talented San Diego Padres, improved Angels and Red Sox, who carried the best record in baseball into Arlington last Thursday.
Add in road series against the standout Kansas City Royals, defending American League champion Tampa Bay Rays, the Angels and a very good White Sox team, and the Rangers are fortunate to be sitting at 13-16 on May 3.
While a big series win can boost a team, Chris Woodward's group has already gone through the emotions that follow. After the Rangers took three of four games from the Rays, they were punched in the mouth by the Baltimore Orioles at home, barely escaping a weekend series with a walk-off win in the final game of the series.
"I'll say this again, which I say all the time: We've gotta keep it going," Woodward said. "A lot of times, you can get a little bit of a let down after a series like that. You come in and think you're just going to keep that thing going."
While the Rangers aren't blowing anybody away in any team stats, and definitely have their areas where they need to improve (strikeouts, for instance), they've held true to their word of being a difficult team to play against. Nine of their 16 losses have been decided by three runs or less, with three more decided by four runs.
"We've won these games because of our execution late in games, the way we've pitched, our at-bat quality, Nate Lowe stealing a big base when he had the opportunity, that's how we've been winning games," Woodward explained. "We've been playing a lot of close games. So now, we've gotta keep on that. We can't let up."
While the Rangers' starting pitching has slipped in recent days, the bullpen is currently in a stretch where they've only allowed two runs in the last 27 innings. On offense, Nick Solak, Nate Lowe, Willie Calhoun, and Isiah Kiner-Falefa have led the charge with consistent pressure at the plate and on the basepaths.
Now, Texas will square off with a reeling Minnesota Twins team that won the American League Central division in 2020, but has gotten off to a rough 10-16 start this season. The recipe for success, however, remains unchanged.
"There's a reason why we've been successful," Woodward said. "We've put a ton of work in on the physical and mental side. And we've gotta keep that up. I think that's where maintaining that momentum, it's not going to naturally happen. We've forced these wins."
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