This Friday the (62-81) Texas Rangers and the (79-63) Tampa Bay Rays will play game one of this three-game series. The first pitch will be thrown out at 7:10 PM EST inside Tropicana Field. The last time that these two teams matched up, they ended up splitting a four-game series.
The Texas Rangers are coming into this one after splitting a short two-game series with the Oakland A's. Texas will have to be better on the mound, as they gave up 15 combined runs in two games to the Athletics.
The Tampa Bay Rays are entering this one after losing their previous four-game series to the Toronto Blue Jays. The Rays lost three of four games, as their bats continued to let them down. They only scored one run in the final game, as their bats will have to heat up if they want to challenge the Rangers on the road.
This game was written/published before last night's results.
The Texas Rangers are currently 4-6 in their last 10 and still 17.5 games back from the Tampa Bay Rays, as they hold the third and final AL Wild Card spot. Texas's poor play has allowed them to continue sliding in the wrong direction, as they are also in third place in the AL West, as the Rangers still trail the first-place Houston Astros by 31.0 games.
At the plate, the Rangers are scoring 4.56 runs per game and they are hitting .243 as a team. This is the 12th most runs scored per game and the 14th highest overall team batting average, as the Rangers have shown that they can consistently reach base safely this season. But, they have struggled when they have men in scoring position. The Rangers have also shown that they have a serious amount of power hidden inside of their lineup. They are hitting 1.26 bombs per game, which is the eighth highest average in the MLB this season. They have multiple guys that can cha nge this game with one swing of the bat. Texas has also already stolen 119 bases this season, which is the most in the league. They have a ton of speed inside of their lineup.
According to MLB.com, the Rangers will be starting Martin Perez on the mound. he is currently 11-6 with a 2.77 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. The last time he was on the mound he pitched for 6.0 innings and he only gave up six hits and one earned run. Perez has also been a beast on the road this season, as he is 6-3 with a 2.65 ERA. The Texas bullpen has held their own this season, as they currently have the 12th lowest ERA in the MLB. They are allowing 3.71 runs per game. As a team, the Rangers are allowing 4.68 runs per game, which is the 22nd most in the league.