Texas Rangers Winning Streak Doesn't Matter in MLB Power Rankings

The winning streak that catapulted the Texas Rangers back into strong playoff position wasn’t meant with much enthusiasm by the baseball pundits.

Especially with what happened off the diamond.

The loss of Max Scherzer for the remainder of the regular season – and possible postseason run – has taken the wind out of the Rangers’ sails, at least from a national viewpoint. Texas fell considerably in the latest MLB Power Rankings from ESPN’s panel of baseball experts.

The Rangers are down to No. 10 after being seventh last week despite winning six in a row and sweeping the Toronto Blue Jays.

Per ESPN:

Texas righted the ship – at least for now – by going on a mini win streak after getting swept by the Astros early last week. The big question for the Rangers, though, is whether they can survive the injuries to Adolis Garcia, Josh Jung and now Max Scherzer, who will miss the rest of the regular season, and possibly the playoffs, with a shoulder injury. Scherzer's injury certainly makes the job that much harder on the mound, and the Rangers already had pitching issues from Dane Dunning, Nathan Eovaldi and others. The pen has also been a hot mess, compiling a season-long ERA close to 5.00, which ranks in the bottom five in MLB.

The No. 5 Houston Astros lead the Rangers by just a half-game in the American League West. Texas, however, is second in the Wild Card race, leading the No. 9 Seattle Mariners by a game and No. 7 Toronto by 2.5 games.

The Rangers are also getting reinforcements. Jung and García could be back as soon as the start of Monday’s homestand against the Boston Red Sox.

Despite the struggles of the previous few weeks and the Scherzer gut punch, the Rangers responded with one of their best series of the season in sweeping the Blue Jays. Texas outscored their Canadian rivals 35-9 over four games.

Considering all of that, it’s no wonder Texas is in a dogfight in the AL West. At least Corey Seager continues to be a leader on offense. He homered twice and hit .364 last week, which included three hits – two of them doubles – in Tuesday's 6-3 win over the Blue Jays.

Seager and the rest of the Rangers continue their road trip with a three-game series at the Cleveland Guardians beginning Friday night. Texas manager Bruce Bochy has set the first two starters, with Jon Gray going in the opener.

You can follow Art Garcia on Twitter @ArtGarcia92.

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