The Dallas Mavericks are one win away from the NBA Finals, and the Stars are still in the mix for the Stanley Cup. It’s enough to push the Texas Rangers — the reigning World Series champions — onto the back burner in the Metroplex.
In the middle of all that basketball and hockey hoopla, Texas hosts the Arizona Diamondbacks this week in a rematch of the World Series. Both teams are under .500, costing the matchup some of its luster. For the Rangers, injuries to prominent starting pitchers are just part of the problem.
Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer haven’t pitched at all this year, and Nathan Eovaldi and Jon Gray are on the injured list now as well. Despite all that, Texas’ starters have an ERA of 3.65, which is in the top half of baseball. The bullpen, however, has the second-worst ERA in the game at 5.09, with eight blown saves in 17 chances.
Offensively, the Rangers were expected to receive a boost from top prospects Evan Carter and Wyatt Langford, but Carter is batting .188. Langford is at .224, and he’s currently on the IL.
The good news for Texas is that only Seattle (28-26) is above .500 in the AL West at the moment, and the Mariners lead the Rangers by just three games. The whole division is in negative territory in terms of run differential. Texas manager Bruce Bochy has shown time and time again that all you need to do is make the playoffs to have a shot at winning it all, and the Rangers have plenty of time left to turn their season around — and try to add to this impressive run for Dallas-area sports.
Last year, 10 of the 12 teams that were in playoff position as of Memorial Day went on to make the postseason. The year before, it was eight out of 12. A fast start that’s lasted this long is generally enough to put a team in very good shape.
