A sweep of the Angels, on the heels of a sweep of the M's. I'm hard pressed to think of two teams I enjoyed seeing the Rangers beat more than the Angels and M's.
Anthony Andro's game story notes that while the Rangers are feeling good about where they stand right now, they also know it is just May, and there's a long way still to go.
Evan Grant says that the Rangers are in first place because of pitching and defense, ranking 6th in the A.L. in ERA, 5th in rotation ERA, third in fielding percentage, and 2nd in DER.
Jeff Miller details how four Rangers pitchers -- a waiver claim, a couple of NRIs, and a guy who appeared to be in danger of hitting the waiver wire not too long ago -- were able to shut out Anaheim.
Scott Feldman logged 6 shutout innings yesterday, and although it worked out, I have to question the wisdom of sending him out for the 6th. I know there's the directive for pitchers to work deeper into games, but it was a tie game, Feldman had started laboring in the 5th, and he's got a history of fading at around 75-80 pitches. With a fully rested bullpen, sending Feldman back out for the 6th -- and leaving him out there when he was struggling again -- seemed to be pushing your luck, although Feldman ended up escaping unscathed.
T.R. Sullivan notes that the Rangers are heading out to Detroit to face a Tiger team that is almost as hot as Texas is, having won 3 in a row and 9 of their last 15 to claim first place in the A.L. Central. The Rangers are also 0-8 in their last 8 games in Detroit.
Anthony Andro's notes this morning include an item saying Ron Washington isn't planning on going to a six man bullpen anytime soon, even though the last couple of guys in the pen aren't getting any work right now.
Bob Sturm writes that the much abused Ranger fan base may be on the verge of experiencing something special...
And Tim Cowlishaw says everything seems to be going well for Texas right now...