Factors that fueled the Rangers' hot streak
The Rangers seem to have found their groove as they have won seven of their last eight games and the last three series. They have played the Nationals, Twins, and White Sox in this stretch, while they are not the best teams in the world it is still improvement.
The pitching continues to dominant
Over these games, the pitchers have allowed 21 runs. They have been terrific from the starters to the bullpen, the worst start has come from Jack Leiter allowing four runs in four innings.
Most of the damage in his outing came off a home run from Byron Buxton on a slider that was moving away from him. Buxton even admitted that it was a good pitch and things like that will happen. If this is the worst outing from a starter then they will definitely take that.
Out of the 73 innings in these games, the bullpen has pitched 41 and 1/3 innings and allowed 8 runs. The ERA for the bullpen comes out to a 1.74 in that time. They have stepped up big with Nathan Eovaldi and Tyler Mahle going on I.L, which has needed them to complete two bullpen games. The Rangers won both games.
There have been some standouts in this stretch like Jacob Latz who has been an opener and performed well while also shutting the White Sox down in extras. Cole Winn who hasn't allowed a run in 11 and 2/3 innings this year and he is starting to earn Bochy's trust as he pitches in bigger leverage spots. Shawn Armstrong who was brilliant in the opener against the White Sox holding them scoreless in three innings. There have been other arms who have stepped and this group has worked together as a unit.
For a part of the team that the fans complain quite a bit about the bullpen has been a big reason that the team looks like they are back on track.
Big Bats starting to come around
Some of the stars for the Rangers who were struggling in the beginning of the year are starting to pick it up. The two guys that stand out the most are Marcus Semien and Adolis Garcia.
Semien has been hot for a while and had the most consistent bat in the lineup since his bat woke up. In the past eight games, his batting average is .344 with one home run and eight RBIs. He has been the anchor that the team needs especially when Seager is slumping. He is hitting like he did when the team won it all in 2023 and the Rangers are hoping that he can keep it up.
Adolis Garcia has been looking like his old self lately. Bochy had Garcia take a few days off to try to get him mental right and it seems like it has worked. He is hitting .316 after the break compared to .208 before. He also proved that he is still clutch when he had a walk-off single against the White Sox. If El Bombi is back to his old self then that will be a major shot in the arm for this lineup.
Upcoming Schedule
The next team that the Rangers will face are the Royals who have been slumping lately, so it seems like they are playing them at the right time. The next couple series after that are against the Pittsburgh Pirates who have not been too good this year and the Orioles who have really struggled. The Rangers could really get the ball rolling and continue their momentum.
