We’re down to anywhere from 35-37 games left in the baseball season, and the issue of the bullpens will loom large, as they always do, in September. What teams are going to suffer the crushing losses that kill playoff hopes? What teams know they’re going to put a game in the win column if they’re up after six innings? TheSportsNotebook’s MLB coverage focuses in on the American League, to see where this might become a factor.
After a three-game sweep over the previously sizzling Boston Red Sox, the Rangers are now 20-11 and atop the American League West. Today we’ll look at how they’re getting it done and what this means for the 21 weeks of baseball still ahead.
The Texas Rangers had moved into sluggish mode lately after their outstanding start. Now they’ve officially upgraded that to struggling. The AL West leaders just played three straight series against their division rivals and lost all three, including dumping three of four to heretofore struggling Oakland. The Rangers’ record is now at 34-25—obviously still a solid season by any measurement, but no longer enough to have the rest of the league far in the rearview mirror, and the race is on in the AL West.