Texas Rangers look strong as second half gets underway

Question

Texas Rangers look strong as second half gets underway
The Texas Rangers have improved drastically since Ryan Nolan took over the management of the team in 2008. The Rangers defied all odds to book their first ever World Series berth last year and this year they are again looking to reproduce the feat.
Texas has a well knit unit and it has been publicised this season with their top-quality consistent performances. Currently, the Rangers are positioned among the top five teams in the Majors and if they remain persistent, they can easily eye a spot in the
top three.
The Rangers have dominated the American League West Division. Their win-loss record of 55-41 is much superior than the second placed Los Angeles Angels who sport a win-loss record of 51-45. Rangers are four games ahead of the Angels and with the season progressing
into the second half, it can be inferred that the Rangers have a clear chance of finishing leaders in their division.
Their domination has majorly come from their ability to win habitually at home games. Out of the 49 home games that they have played this season, the Rangers have managed to win 31. This is a substantial percentage and accounts for more than half their wins
this season.
The batters and pitchers have shined alike for the Rangers. Overall, the batters have amassed 474 runs this season which are the third most by any team this season in Major League Baseball. The batters have not allowed the home-runs to dry out and are slugging
at a percentage of .447 which is the second best in MLB this season. The team’s batting average is also credible at .272, also ranked the second best in the Majors.
Michael Young, Nelson Cruz and Ian Kinsler have been their major contributors at the plate. Young has a batting average of .321 which is the best among the Texas’ roster and the third best in the American League. Cruz has pelted 21 home-runs and fits in
the top five home-run scorers this season in the AL. Ian Kinsler has been a revelation with the bat this season and has compiled 67 runs for the Texas Rangers thus far with a promise of much more.
Their pitching has been as impressive as their batting. The pitching’ staff has learned with experience to dictate terms at the mound and this aggressive attitude has yielded fruitful results for the team.
Alexi Ogando, C.J. Wilson and Derek Holland have all combined to form a formidable rotation at the mound. Ogando and Wilson have an identical win-loss record at 10-3. Wilson, however, has been able to strike-out 124 batters thus far, 41 more than Ogando’s
83. Ogando nonetheless has a superior ERA of 2.72 compared to Wilson’s 3.11.
Holland has been a different kind of pitcher. He has leaked more earned runs but has compensated for this by employing his entire armoury at the mound to silence the opposition eight times. He is fast approaching the 100 strike-outs mark and is just ten
shy of this milestone.
The Rangers are looking strong this season to make it to their second consecutive World Series. They made an interesting trade on Tuesday, July 19 when they traded their not-much-used left-handed pitcher Zach Phillips to Baltimore Orioles for second baseman
Nick Green and some cash consideration. Green has been a reliable fielder and with an already strong unit, it will be interesting to see how the Rangers deploy him.