Major League Baseball Postseason Predictions: American League – Part 5
Texas Rangers have been strong this season and thus their top position in the American League West division. Their batting has been their strength and their statistics justify their authority on the plate. The Rangers have scored 580 runs thus far in the
season which are the third most by any team in the Majors. Their batting average of .276 and slugging percentage of .447 are both ranked the second-best in MLB this season.
Michael Young, Ian Kinsler and Adrian Beltre have been the star performers on the plate for Texas. Combined, they have added 194 runs for the Rangers and this performance needs to continue if the Rangers are to maintain their one-game lead over the Los Angeles
Angels. The trio has smashed 46 home-runs this season with Beltre leading the pack in slugging percentage.
Their pitching has been decent with 71 quality starts and a team ERA of 3.77. There is still, however, room for improvement in the Rangers’ performance from the mound with C.J. Wilson being the only prominent pitcher for his team.
C.J. Wilson has struck-out 146 batters this season and is set to complete 200 strike-outs this season with at least 10 more starts expected. His ERA has been impressive at 3.35 but his arm strength alone is not enough for the Rangers to go through to the
playoffs. They need a quick revival of their strategy at the mound to win more games. Alexi Ogando has one more win than Wilson but this would not be adequate to silence the Angels.
Derek Holland has emerged strong and is currently throwing hard from the mound but his ERA is an inch higher and needs to be worked upon.
The Rangers now enter a tricky phase where they take on the Angels in a four-game series on the road before hosting the Boston Red Sox for a four-game series at home. Both series will be tough and will be played with a gap of just three days in-between.
The Angels are 63-52 for the season and are comfortably placed second in the AL West division, 11.5 games ahead of third placed Oakland Athletics. The Angels need a string of good games to eradicate their one-game deficit with the Rangers and overthrow them
from the top spot.
The Angels have emerged strong after a slow start to the second half. They have lost just four of their previous 12 encounters and are now in a strong position to take on their division leaders when the both sides meet from August 15 – August 18.
It has become obvious now that one of the two teams will make it to the postseason and it will be a tough call as to whom. Rest assured, this competition is expected to go to the wire and whosoever emerges victorious will be the deserving candidate.
None of Rangers or Angels can hope of making it through to the postseason via the Wild Card system because the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox are in tough contention for that spot. The Yankees and the Red Sox are certain of making it to the playoffs,
one will finish top and the other will be the automatic candidate for the Wild Card entry. The Angels are currently 7.5 games behind in the Wild Card standings and eradicating the deficit seems a distant possibility, in this season at least.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
Tags: