Texas Rangers to face the Seattle Mariners in a four-game series – MLB Preview
A four-game series between the Texas Rangers and the Seattle Mariners will begin at Safeco Field, Seattle on July 14. The Rangers are the hot favourite for this series as their batters and pitchers performed brilliantly in the last few games and gave the
Rangers some exciting wins.
The Rangers will also try to raise their winning streak by defeating the Mariners at their home-ground. In the last 22 games’ statistics, the Rangers had an exemplary Win-Loss record as they won 15 out of those 22 games, including the previous seven consecutive
victories. The overall Win-Loss record for the Rangers during the first half of the regular season is 51-41.
During the last seven games of the first half, the Rangers’ batters were impressive as they batted with an average of .351 to extend their hitting average .500 for the last 10 games. The Rangers’ outfielder, Josh Hamilton had an exemplary season so far as
he had a season’s best walk-off homer with four hits in the last series.
Hamilton lost his batting average to .301, had 49 RBIs and 11 homers in the last month after recovering from the fractured bone of his right arm. However, now he is confident of some better results. Michael Young is hopeful to resume his form of first half
as he batted with an average of .389 including 14 RBIs in his previous 18 games.
The Rangers’ manager, Ron Washington said, “We've finally got the type of baseball moving in the direction we're capable of playing. It was a while coming, but we finally got there. We know what we have to do and how we have to do it.”
Probably, Derek Holland will take a start for the Rangers during the second half of the regular season. He had 7-4 Win-Loss record with an ERA of 4.68. Holland had a remarkable day during last Thursday when he threw score-less innings against the Oakland
Athletics to give the Rangers an exciting 6-0 win. Before that game, Holland looked expensive as he allowed 12 runs in the last two starts.
On the other side, the Mariners had the worst Win-Loss record of 43-48 in the first half of the current season as they faced five straight losses including a four-game sweep against the Los Angeles Angels.
The Mariners’ manager, Eric Wedge expects a better start from his team as he said, “I feel we're going to be a better offensive club in the second half. The experience in all these close games is going to come back to help us.”
Hopefully, Jason Vargas will act as a starter for the Mariners in the tomorrow’s game. Vargas did not show his efforts for the Mariners except last few games.
During the month of April, the Rangers defeated the Mariners in a three-game series but lost two games during the three-game series in May. Now it will be a tough contest between these two teams.
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