Greetings from the Kansas City airport, conveniently located between KC and Omaha.
The Texas Rangers always manage to keep things interesting, and last week was no different.
They lost the first two games of a four-game home series against the Los Angeles Angels, but rebounded with the best victory of the season on Wednesday. Texas overcame two six-run deficits and a three-run deficit in the 10th to pull off the dramatic walkoff victory.
The victory was capped off by the team announcing it had purchased the contract of Mike Olt, the organization’s top power hitting prospect. The Rangers won the series finale, too, as the offense came through after a shaky debut by Ryan Dempster on Thursday.
The Rangers then headed to KC for a three-game weekend series, winning the first two games and extending their winning streak to four games. “We look energized,” Ron Washington said after a 4-2 victory on Saturday. “We’re playing good baseball.”
However, the Rangers couldn’t complete the series sweep against the Royals. They had several opportunities to take the lead, but couldn’t take advantage. Instead, the Royals went on to a walkoff victory when the Rangers committed two fielding errors in the bottom of the 10th.
Things took an interesting twist after the game, as well. Roy Oswalt, who was moved to the bullpen earlier in the week, declined to pitch a third inning of relief on Sunday. Oswalt wasn’t available for comment after the game, but expressed his desire to remain a starter on Saturday.
Here’s a look at the week ahead:
Today-Wednesday at Boston: The Rangers saw the Red Sox two weeks ago, taking two of three. The Rangers open the series tonight behind Yu Darvish, who is 1-3 with a 6.82 ERA over his last five starts. Darvish is looking to get back on track and limit his number of walks. Ryan Dempster hopes to make a better second impression after giving up eight runs over 4 2/3 innings in his Rangers debut Thursday. The series finale features Matt Harrison vs. Josh Beckett. Harrison has been the most consistent member of the rotation and won his 13th game on Friday. Texas has gone 4-1 against Boston so far this season.
Friday-Sunday vs. Detroit: The Rangers return home for a brief three-game series this weekend, and will be taking on the Tigers, who are in a dogfight for the AL Central lead with the White Sox. Scott Feldman will open the series on Friday followed by Derek Holland and Yu Darvish. The Rangers are 5-2 against the Tigers so far this season.
-- Drew Davison
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