Game 37: Rangers vs Angels

How good are these Rangers? They are eight games over 500, three and a half games over second place Anaheim, which only one other first place division leader has a bigger lead over second place and are getting quality innings from their starters.

I have to admit, it is easy to be on the Ranger bandwagon right now. Everything is going right. There will come a time when the Rangers are doing so well. They will be cold. When you play 162 game, chances are there will come a time when you play cold. And it will probably come more than once in that stretch. Let's not forget what happened after the Rangers won their first three games.

The Rangers now have dropped the team ERA to 4.71 after today's game. The Rangers also rank 11th in the majors in WHIP with a 1.39 team WHIP. What is somewhat surprising is that the Rangers are tied last in strikeouts. Rangers still lead the majors in HRs with 62, ten more than the NY Yankees.

The Yankees are no longer dead last in team ERA. They are now 27th in the majors with a 5.49 ERA. Scott Feldman is 2-0 this season with the Rangers and Texas is 3-1 when he starts. He is 1-2 against the Angels with a 6.30 ERA. That consists of 11 games, but only four are starts. In his last home start against the Angels, he went six innings, giving up six runs on eight hits and two HRs. He took the loss in that game, which was in Arlington (on Sept 21st). He followed that start with his last game of the 2008 season in Anaheim. He went another six innings there, yeilding two runs (only one earned) grabbing the win.

Rangers to Watch:

• Michael Young is 8-27 off Weaver.
• Hank Blalock is 7-17 off Weaver with a double, triple, HR and RBI.
• Marlon Byrd is 4-11 off Weaver with a double and a RBI.
• The Rangers current roster is 29-109 (.274) with three doubles, a triple, a HR and five RBIs.

Weaver has gone some distance this season already. He has 11 innings on the road, one start at New York and another at Seattle where he has given up eight runs (for a 6.55 ERA on the road). Four of his last five starts have gone seven innings or longer. The one that didn't was a road game. He has a 2.46 ERA for the season. In comparison, he has 36.2 innings at home with a 1.23 ERA in Anaheim. He has nine starts against the Rangers with a 2-1 record and a 2.54 ERA. The Rangers hit him for a .239 batting average, although the current roster is much better than that mark (see above). In Arlington, his numbers are even better. He's got a 1-1 record, but a 1.80 ERA and holds the Rangers to a .228 batting average.

Angels to Watch:

• Torii Hunter is 3-9 against Feldman with three RBIs.
• Howie Kendrick is 3-7 against Feldman with a double, a HR and a RBI.
• Mike Napoli is 4-7 against Feldman with a RBI.
  

Forecast: Feldman is one of the reasons the Rangers have gotten hot. He has a string of really good starts and with the team morale, I think he could stretch the streak to seven and the lead over second place to 4.5 games. Look for a score of 6-4, Rangers.

Home Plate