Texas Rangers Confident After 'Big' Road Trip

How good are the Texas Rangers playing right now?

The Rangers (12-6) entered Thursday leading the American League West by three games over the Los Angeles Angels and enjoying a season-high four-game winning streak – club’s longest since last April – after completing a 5-1 road trip that started with a series win over the defending champion Houston Astros.

“It’s a big road trip for us and definitely a confidence booster,” Marcus Semien said, according to MLB.com. “Everybody is working hard to get hot, and our bullpen is deep. This will be big for us moving forward. I’m sure it will make it tough on [manager Bruce Bochy] to figure out who’s in the lineup, but that’s a good problem to have.”

Texas has the second-best record in the AL, trailing only the Tampa Bay Rays (16-3), and is off to its best start since 2013. The Rangers won 91 games that season.

The sweep of the Kansas City Royals was the first undefeated road series of at least three games since going 4-0 at the Baltimore Orioles late in the 2019 season. The Rangers are also closing series, going 5-1 in the first six finales this season.

The Rangers are currently clicking on all cylinders, with the offense and pitching staff both coming up big. Texas has outscored opponents 37-6 during its winning streak, going 20-for-38 (.526) with runners in scoring position over that span.

Helping the Rangers cause is the schedule. The Oakland Athletics will be the second consecutive last-place foe for Texas, with the series starting Friday at Globe Life Field. The last-place Cincinnati Reds are next.

Jon Gray (1-1, 3.21) is scheduled to start the Oakland opener for Texas. The Rangers are also wearing their new Nike City Connect uniforms for the first two games of the series.

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