Texas Rangers v. Boston Red Sox
Fenway Park, Boston, Ma.
Led by a strong offense, the Texas Rangers (70-49, .588) have been one of the surprise teams of the season so far, leading the American League West by twelve games over the Oakland Athletics (57-60).
Slugging Josh Hamilton (.314, 33 hRs, 93 RBIs) is putting up Triple Crown numbers in his first season with the Rangers after resurrecting his career with the Cincinnati Reds in 2007. While Ian Kinsler might only be hitting .269 for the seaosn, he is second to Hamilton in both HRs (26) and RBIs (78) and a big reason why the Rangers are leading the AL in Slugging (.445), Home Runs (159) and Extra-Base Hits (359) and are second in Runs Scored (622).
Just as surprising for the Rangers has been the play of their pitching staff. Long an achilles heel in the Texas heat, Kevin Millwood (14-3, 3.39 ERA) is leading a group that has the 7th best Starters' ERA (4.48). Going along with that is the AL's best bullpen with a 3.19 ERA. Midseason pickups Edwin Jackson (7 GS, 4-2, 2.83 w/ Texas) and Chris Capuano (2 GS, 7.36 ERA).
The Rangers are currently in the midst of a 16 game stretch against the American League East. So far, Texas has won nine of ten against Toronto, New York and Baltimore. After three against the Red Sox, Texas travels to Tampa to finish off the AL East for the season, minus a three game series in Arlington in September against Boston.
Pitching Matchups:
8/12: Chris Capuano (5-8, 4.92 ERA) v. Jon Lester (10-6)
8/13: Kevin Millwood (14-3, 3.39) v. Clay Buchholz (10-5, 4.46)
8/14: Scott Feldman (6-3, 3.67) v. Tim Wakefield (11-7, 4.15)