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Texas Rangers playoffs

MLB Playoffs: Wild-Card Kickoff Tonight

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The MLB playoffs start tonight at 5 PM ET with a game that’s everything Bud Selig could have hoped for when he instituted this AL/NL doubleheader f one-game knockouts. The first game will be St. Louis visiting Atlanta. Here we have the two teams that were the National League side of last year’s wild finish, when the Cardinals overtook the Braves on the final day of the season. And we have Atlanta legend Chipper Jones potentially playing his final game. Yes, this wild-card game knockout is a good idea.

AL Report: Could The Texas Rangers Miss The Playoffs?

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The offense has been Texas’ calling card over the years, even when they were a bad team and they lead the American League in runs scored. It’s a testimony to how good the offense was for three months, because in July the bats were positively atrocious. Josh Hamilton’s slump got media attention and a little public jab from team president Nolan Ryan, but he’s far from alone. The only noteworthy month was turned in by Nelson Cruz, who hit four home runs and slugged. 541 while getting on base consistently. In fact home runs in general weren’t a problem—Hamilton also hit four and catcher Mike Napoli hit five. But Napoli was like Hamilton in that he batted sub-.200, and the team was more like them then they were like Cruz. Texas finished dead last in the AL scoring runs for July